Another award for the refurbished Bat & Ball Station in Sevenoaks

The refurbished Bat & Ball Station picked up another accolade recently when it was given the Urban Heritage Award at the National Railway Heritage Awards, 2019.

AWARDS NIGHT: Pictured (l-r) are: James Seabrooke, strategy and new business director for The Arch Company; Linda Redden, heritage engagement officer Sevenoaks Town Council; Linda Larter, town clerk Sevenoaks Town Council; The Princess Royal, HRH Princess Anne

The award was presented to Sevenoaks Town Clerk Linda Larter by The Princess Royal, HRH Princess Anne at a special ceremony in Merchant Taylors’ Hall, London to mark the competition’s 40th anniversary. The event was sponsored by the Arch Company.

The National Railway Heritage Awards aim is to recognise, acknowledge and reward, for the public benefit, the very best in restoration, conservation and re-use of the historic railway infrastructure.

The Bat & Ball project was acknowledged for the dramatic restoration work and for bringing the building back into community use as part of the Northern Sevenoaks Masterplan to regenerate the area.

Bat & Ball Station building is a Grade II listed Victorian property which was constructed in 1862. The building is of significant historical interest as it was the first station in Sevenoaks and in 1867 used by Queen Victoria when visiting Knole House.

PHOTO: Theis + Khan Architects

The station was boarded from 1991 and gradually deteriorated over the years until 2018 when Sevenoaks Town Council secured a £755,600 Heritage Lottery Fund grant towards the refurbishment of the station building.

The restoration took 26 weeks to complete and the building opened to the public in March 2019 providing heritage information, community rooms for hire, a café and public toilets.

Since completion, the restoration project has been nominated for several awards and has been recognised for retaining the buildings original character, enhancing its historic features with contemporary design, as well as bringing an unused building back to life for use by the local community.

To find out more about the Bat & Ball Station Restoration go to: www.batandballstation.com

To find out more about the National Railway Heritage Awards to go: www.nrha.org.uk