The white part of the building was the original station at Chappel & Wakes Colne, Essex. It was built in 1849. The red brick 2 story building was added on in 1900 to form the station masters house. In the same year a new station building was built next door. The line from Marks Tey to Sudbury opened on 2nd July 1849. The primary use of the line was to bring farm and loom produce from Sudbury to the London markets. On 16th April 1860 a new section of line to Halstead was opened, a further extension to Haverhill opened on 10th May 1863. Further extensions were made to the line giving a connection from Sudbury up to Cambridge. Some of the heaviest traffic was during the second world war. Freight trains, carrying rubble for the construction of a new airfield at Wormingford, came from Cambridge. When the airfield was completed, a petrol depot was built at Chappel & Wakes Colne station, and trains bringing petrol for the aircrafts came twice a day. The line was set to totally close on the 31st December 1966, but for commuter needs the Sudbury to Marks Tey line remained open. We moved into the house in November 1998 and have since been decorating room by room, keeping the style to suit the age of the property.