Sir John Betjeman

Visits the Royal Station Wolferton

Sir John Betjeman (1906-84) was a lifelong railway enthusiast and a frequent visitor to Norfolk with a passion for trains, churches, landscape and architecture.

In John Betjeman on Trains by Jonathan Glancey, he is described as “Not, I hasten to say, one who stood, duffel bag, Penguin biscuit and fish-paste sandwiches on murky days at the ends of platforms taking down the numbers of locomotives; but a poet who loved railways from the bottom of his heart.”

In 1962, one hundred years after the Kings Lynn to Hunstanton railway opened its terminus by the sea, John Betjeman travelled on the 12 mile branch line by diesel. ( The design of the two-coach train allowed for a 270-degree panoramic view for those sitting near the front ). Interestingly, he was on his way to the home of Alison and Peter Smithson’s Hunstanton School which was completed in 1956 and is one of the most celebrated Modernist buildings of the mid 20th century.

British Transport films recorded his epic journey in collaboration with BBC East Anglia: entitled John Betjeman goes by Train. This engaging ten-minute black and white film was a relatively early entry in Betjeman’s filmography but remains an absolute classic to this day, and is currently available from bfi.

Along the way, Betjeman revels in the pleasures of the journey itself, the passing scenery and architecture, and the attractions of the intermediate stations of Snettisham and in particular Wolferton, before ending up at the buffers of Hunstanton, which directly faced the beach opposite the green with its Town Hall.

George Skipper was the architect of Hunstanton Town Hall of whom Betjeman said “He is to Norwich what Gaudi was to Barcelona.” So, has Barcelona anything to rival Hunstanton Town Hall?

The immaculately-maintained Wolferton Station, close to the royal Sandringham estate, is an architectural gem, based around an arch dating from the late fifteenth century, that JB describes, in his inimitable style, “different from all other stations”. He highlights the way everything has been calculated to blend into the surroundings there are no posters, and the signal box matches the adjacent cottages.

In 1988, four years after his death, The Betjeman Society was created with a mission to promote the study and appreciation of JB’s life and work by bringing together all those who admire his writings and share his enthusiasms. Today there are close to one thousand members and an annual programme of events which includes poetry readings, lectures, discussions and visits to places associated with Britain’s best loved and best-selling poet.

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Sir John Betjeman at St Pancras Station
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'John Betjeman Goes By Train'

The BFI DVD can be found on page 3 of the above article.