Skegness Magazine

Boer War Victorian Graffiti Burgh Train Station

SCALE modeller Mr Iain Holmes made a surprising find at old Burgh Railway Station last week — Victorian graffiti.

Mr Holmes, who hails from Crewe and is a driver for the touring company Smith Happiway Spencer, found these words engraved in the stonework at the station: “Boer War first shot fired October 11, 1899″

He has been making models since he was eight years old and intends to make a model of Burgh Station with the large number of photographs he took while at the Seacroft Hotel last week.

He had driven past Burgh Station many times on his way to Skegness and was attracted to the usual design of the building.

In the two hours he spent looking around at the station he also found the date 1909 inscribed in the old gent’s toilet.

Mr Holmes said that considering the conditions — the station was closed in 1970 — the building was in very good repair.

We visited Burgh Train Station to make enquiries as to whether the Victorian Graffiti still exists, but unfortunately, we could find no trace of it as the buildings are now private residences.

1982 local news story