Visitors to Taunton station will be transported back in time with the opening of a Centenary Lounge celebrating the history of the Great Western Railway, Art Deco and the 1930s.
Located on Platform 2 and inspired by the station’s rich heritage, the café includes light fittings, flooring, wood panelling and glass mirrors reflective of a golden age of steam travel.
It was officially opened yesterday with a celebration featuring a live 1930s-style band, speeches, canapés and other refreshments for guests and customers.
Centenary Lounge was launched at Birmingham Moor Street station in 2009, with another café opening in Worcester in 2019 and at Leamington Spa station in 2023.
Founder Aasia Baig said she was delighted to be extending the Centenary Lounge story to Taunton:
“I wanted to come up with a design appropriate for the heyday of rail travel in the 1930s and took inspiration from the original interiors of our refreshment room in Leamington Spa station, as Taunton and Leamington Spa boast similar architectural aesthetics.
“Taunton station has undergone some major improvements over the past five years and our café is in a fantastic location, overlooking the plaza and square with views across to the Great Western Hotel.
“We want to become a destination not only for customers passing through the station, but for the local community who have fallen back in love with their station.”
Over the past five years, a multi-million-pound regeneration of the station has delivered a new ticket office, station entrance and forecourt, multi-storey car park and an improved bus and taxi interchange.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Chair of the GWR Advisory Board, said:
“Railways are all about connecting people, whether that is for work, for education or for leisure. They bring people together and station waiting rooms and refreshment rooms are part of that heritage. I’m delighted that Taunton station will now have such a special place for people to meet and start or finish their journeys.
“It is a very important station, that has seen significant investment and improvement in services and it’s wonderful that Taunton is joining the GWR Centenary Lounge family.”
GWR Business Assurance and Strategy Director, Joe Graham, added:
“We’re delighted to welcome Centenary Lounge to Taunton and are thrilled they’ve been able to recreate so many of the station’s original features in this stunning new café.
“We’re incredibly proud of Great Western Railway’s rich history and this café provides some wonderful examples of the quality and heritage which are so symbolic of the railway. The project demonstrates that we are committed to our customers and care about the communities we serve.”
Image credit: Great Western Railway
