When the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway was extended from to Wolvercot Junction (north of ) on 4 June 1853, there was no station between and . On 10 August 1855 a branch line to was opened by the Chipping Norton Railway, and a station, known as "Chipping Norton Junction", was opened at the junction of the branch with the OW&W; this branch was purchased by the OW&W in 1859. The OW&W amalgamated with other railways on 1 July 1860 to form the West Midland Railway; this in turn amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 August 1863. In the meantime, a second branch line from Chipping Norton Junction, the Bourton-on-the-Water railway, had opened on 1 March 1862; that railway was absorbed by the GWR on 1 February 1874.