The station was opened on 15 January 1873 and was originally named Bampton,[2][3] although it was 2 miles (3.2 km) north of that village.

[3] The station was one of two on the East Gloucestershire Railway with two platforms, and a stone-built goods shed was also constructed, as at Lechlade and Fairford.

[11] Until Brize Norton airfield was built, the station stood in a rather isolated position, 1.75 miles (2.82 km) to the north of Bampton village.

[14] A siding once ran from the station through the perimeter fence of Brize Norton and into the aerodrome but this was a temporary facility used during the airfield's construction.

[9] Special signalling was installed in the airfield's control tower and in the station's signal box (which was also linked to the control tower), which was presumably similar to the system used by the Northern Counties Committee at RAF Ballykelly where a main runway was crossed on the level by the Belfast–Derry railway line.

Several proposals were made for the site including for waste disposal but this was refused by the local council on the basis of the traffic that it would generate.