Brewery and cafe plan at former railway station

A former Herefordshire railway station could become home to a craft brewery and café if a local entrepreneur’s plans come off.

Matthew Davies has applied to sell his three-strong Stoke Edith Station beer range, along with other local produce, from a market stall at the station of the same name near the village of Tarrington.

His licensing application to Herefordshire Council sets out further plans to hold occasional open days during which food and drink would be sold, with a view to opening a more permanent café in the future.

His late father bought the station 25 years ago, where he built a replica station house and railway shed.

The station, which currently offers holiday accommodation, also has two historic carriages and a diesel engine.

Mr Davies is already licensed to brew the beers at a “nano-brewery” in his house in Bristol, and to sell them to local shops.

If this latest move at the station takes off, he plans move the brewing operation there – though he pointed out: “I doubt it will be a fast process.”

Mr Davies, who has recently completed a horticulture course, also grows hops to use in his beers on a plot at the station, including the traditional Bramling Cross and Goldings varieties.

Lying on the Hereford-Ledbury line, Stoke Edith station closed in 1965.