Decoding Ambridge: Borsetshire's Mystery Railways

[Hando]

In the spirit of the "Imaginary Railways" topic of this forum, I thought it might be interesting to try to make sense of the railways of the fictional county of Borsetshire (best known as being the abode of the famous Archers)...

 

I will readily admit that I am not a diehard fan of The Archers (although both my mother and grandmother are), but having picked up William Smethurst's excellent book "Ambridge: An English Village Through The Ages", I have gained a deeper interest in the series' 'history'.

I had already seen various maps of Borsetshire and Ambridge Parish, which provided some insight into what lines once and currently exist in the fictional county, although they don't give much information about such railways' history.

Having read Smethurst's book (which I strongly recommend for any modellers seeking to create a convincing setting for their fictional railway) I have been able to glean a few details about Borsetshire's railways...

 

Hollerton Junction, and by the same token, Felpersham, are both situated on the Great Western Railway. Hollerton Junction opened in 1856, with other Archers literature (according to a very old Google Groups thread I found: https://groups.google.com/g/uk.media.radio.archers/c/UgTTySELEHI) stating that the station is situated on the Paddington to Hereford Main Line. This suggests that the railway was on the Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, given Borsetshire's approximate location somewhere to the west of the Vale of Evesham(?).

Hollerton Junction still appears to be open, though it has a much less regular service pattern now it is a mere through station.

 

Smethurst's book states that a branch line from Hollerton Junction to Borchester was partially constructed in 1892, although the scheme was unsuccessful.

This railway is probably the branch line that terminated at the south-west end of Ambridge village (as shown in the 1975 Ambridge Parish map below).

 

A member of the old Google Group I found, Ted Richardson, stated that:

Quote

the shares in the Borchester & Hollerton Railway (BHR) were split between teh GWR, the Lawson-Hopes, the Pargitters and various Birmingham capitalists

The meagre information about the railway on the internet means I am unable to ascertain as to whether this is true, but it does sound plausible. As shown in the map above, the Lawson-Hopes were the main landowners in the Ambridge area at the time of the railway's construction. But, what I do know (as is shown in Smethurst's book,) is that the Hollerton to Borchester Railway must've been a somewhat independent concern, based on the fact the company owned a single locomotive by the name of "Borset" (shown below), a Manning Wardle K Class if I'm not mistaken [my guess is that this photo is from the Sydney Newton Collection, the actual engine in question being used by GCR contractors].

According to Smethurst's book, the railway closed in 1917, having been unable to make a profit- so a proper independent light railway* then! 😁

(*based on John Scott-Morgan's definition of course!)

 

Another member of the Google Group, Charles Norrie, claimed that there was a second railway that came to Ambridge Parish, operated by the LNWR and later the LMS. The 1975 parish map (which is by far the most detailed survey) shows another railway (namely Jack Wooley's Ambridge Park Steam Railway), but no disused line going to Lakey Hill itself. Mr Norrie references Railway Modeller November 1997; an issue I have thusly ordered, so hopefully I'll get that in the post come the following Friday. The fact this supposed railway is in RM suggests to me that it probably isn't Archers canon, but we shall have to wait and see...

 

According to Ted Richardson, Jack Wooley originally advocated for the reopening of the old branch line (presumably the old B&HR), with his scheme receiving some publicity as a headline in his Borchester Echo newspaper.

Jack eventually built a steam railway through Ambridge Country Park in the 1970s, and operated it along with Tony (Archer?), who served as fireman on the railway's engine, "Empress of Ambridge". The line is shown on the 1975 parish map and runs from "Wooley Central" in the south, located at the country park's car park, to "Lammerfield Station" by the indoor golf range in the north. According to the members on the Ambridge Google Group thread, Wooley's Railway experienced what the ORR nowadays would probably describe as 'lacking in operational standards' (i.e. running into bufferstops, changing points during movements etc.). It seems the Ambridge Park Railway was eventually handed over to the Borchester Railway Society as Jack chose to stop operating the line.

 

There are two big questions I pose regarding the APR, those being:

1. What was the railway's gauge?
2. Did it run over a pre-existing trackbed?

Various members on the Ambridge Google Group thread suggest that the railway would've been 2ft gauge, probably employing ex-industrial locos like Quarry Hunslets. We'll probably never know for sure...

As for the provenance of the railway, the 1975 Ambridge Parish map indicates that at least the visible section of the line to the south likely existed prior to the APR, as a disused section of line existed between "Wooley Central" and a junction with the BHR south of Grange Farm. Whether the section of line to the north of the map from "Lammerfield Station" past "Bellamy Halt" had previously existed before the APR is unclear. Another ambiguity is whether the Ambridge Park Railway still exists in The Archers universe, as no mention of it has been made for a very long time...

 

The final railway given mention in Borsetshire, is the "Blackberry Line", as shown in the county map below. Like the Ambridge Park Railway, the Blackberry Line is a heritage railway. Audio recordings and marketing photos for the radio programme were taken on the real-life Severn Valley Railway. The line is a more modern creation, which likely accounts for the lack of any history I've been able to find surrounding it, as the programme's scriptwriters appear to put far less emphasis on the worldbuilding of Borsetshire now than their predecessors once did.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Hando

[JamFjord]

This is peak whimsy and I absolutely love it.

[DenysW]

On 06/12/2022 at 23:26, Hando said:

as shown in the county map below

If you believe that map I've a bridge I can sell you in Brooklyn. None of those road numbers are credible for the Vale of Evesham or the Worcestershire/Gloucester border - they don't start with a 4. It's a pack of porkies, I'm afraid.

[Flying Pig]

On 06/12/2022 at 23:26, Hando said:

Mr Norrie references Railway Modeller November 1997; an issue I have thusly ordered, so hopefully I'll get that in the post come the following Friday. The fact this supposed railway is in RM suggests to me that it probably isn't Archers canon, but we shall have to wait and see...

 

You should,research the several layouts of Ray and Cida Earl too.  I can't give any references or road numbers, but I believe they were EM gauge.

[JamFjord]

3 hours ago, DenysW said:

If you believe that map I've a bridge I can sell you in Brooklyn. None of those road numbers are credible for the Vale of Evesham or the Worcestershire/Gloucester border - they don't start with a 4. It's a pack of porkies, I'm afraid.

 

If we're going to start questioning the credibility of made-up maps and invented geographical locations, we could be at risk of tearing a hole in the space-time continuum and causing RMweb to implode.

 

 

You're not wrong, though...

[DenysW]

14 hours ago, JamFjord said:

the credibility of made-up maps and invented geographical locations,

I'm afraid that particular threshold is crossed immediately the OP 'locates' the map as referring to an area west of Evesham (i.e. now actually bisected North-South by the M5 and the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway (later the Midland Railway), neither shown) and starts putting stations on the Old Worse & Worse, as well as a GWR mainline to Hereford. A mainline to Hereford from Paddington surely is a world-class fantasy just by itself. I think change at Shrub Hill is the closest you are likely to get to that particular journey.

[Hando]

Apologies for the late reply.

After having a busy start to the year, I am finally back!

Nice to see people are interacting with this thread, so thanks to everyone who has replied.

 

I'll bring you up to speed on what I've done since my last post... I'm afraid to say that so far there hasn't been much to report on in regards the search for the history of Borsetshire's railways; other than having bought and read the November 1997 edition of Railway Modeller, which is the issue that features the pre-grouping London and North Western Railway layout "Lakey Hill".

It should come as no surprise that the layout in question is not based on the Archers Canon whatsoever. It was simply the case of a name being re-used in a different context. The modelling was to a very good standard, so it is interesting to consider what the fate of the layout was. I imagine that it has long since been scrapped.

So, this means that the LNWR branch to Lakey Hill was a red herring. How disappointing.

 

This brings me onto matters regarding the Google Group I used. It must be said that in isn't a reliable source, a lot of what was said on there is simply hearsay, such as the "GWR Paddington to Hereford Main Line" (which on reflection, I realise just how daft that sounds). However, it has been very helpful in plugging the gaps in the history of the Borchester and Hollerton Railway and the Ambridge Park Railway, though it hasn't provided me with much that is easily verifiable.

 

Regardless of the tangent that the conjectural Lakey Hill line has created, I have now found a possible "lead" for investigation, namely Jock Gallagher's Twenty Five Years of "The Archers", a "who's who" of Archers characters, which also features the Ambridge Parish Map. This book was written in 1975, around the time Jack Woolley's steam railway was running, so perhaps this storyline would be mentioned...

 

As for my suggestion that Borsetshire would be situated to the west of the Vale of Evesham, it was simply sheer speculation on my behalf. My understanding would be that the county would not simply exist on land that already does, but would 'shove' the existing counties outwards from it, resulting in the expansion of the landmass of Great Britain from what it currently is (n.b. it's probably best not to genuinely consider the actual geographical consequences of this situation! 😁).  As for the road numbers, those on the modern map seem to be entirely arbitrary. Most of the numbered roads on the map are region 1 roads, which would place Borsetshire in the East of England, as opposed to the West Country, as it has always said to have been! There is also two region 3 roads, one region 4 road and one region 9 road! Clearly, whoever made the map didn't know about the MoT Classifications!

 

At the end of the day, none of it matters, since it must be remembered that Borsetshire doesn't actually exist (but maybe that's a copout 😄) !

Edited March 6, 2023 by Hando

[Willie Whizz]

Clearly we shall need a “road” equivalent to the “Phone dialling code” officially sanctioned by OFCOM for fictional representation on film and TV.

 

If you don’t know the one I mean, check almost any episode of Midsomer Murders; the numbers in vehicles, signboards etc. all start “01632”, and you can see the same in many other TV shows that take the trouble to create a plausible fictional UK place that isn’t a major city. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Willie Whizz

[DenysW]

1 hour ago, Willie Whizz said:

shows that take the trouble to create a plausible fictional UK place that isn’t a major city. 

I think that Ambridge is a early-1950s metropolitan view of what 1930s rural Worcestershire ought to be like. So it actually is the Vale of Evesham, but without any benefit of caring about detail geography. Add in several decades of plots written by teams of people who also didn't care about geography, and obsessive followers who believe it is all true and thus ought to be consistent, and this is what you end up with. I prefer fully-imaginary landscapes (Sodor, Alnogg, Lyonesse, Castle Aching) over this, but am a bit impatient with all of them when there's so much bizarre reality out there - the Great Central crossing the Midland actually at Loughborough Midland station anyone? Or an LNWR-operated branch-line terminus in the same town?

[KeithMacdonald]

On 02/03/2023 at 00:15, JamFjord said:

If we're going to start questioning the credibility of made-up maps and invented geographical locations, we could be at risk of tearing a hole in the space-time continuum and causing RMweb to implode.

You're not wrong, though...

 

Oh dear!

AFAIK, the Elucidated Brethren of the Counted Rivet had not paid any attention to the map or mythology of Borsetshire.

We might be in trouble now.

[KeithMacdonald]

@Hando - have you considered contacting the scriptwriters and suggesting this as a new plotline?

 

e.g. Government funding has magically appeared for the reopening of the local branch line.

Perhaps because of something like a big new housing development in Felpersham.

Plenty of scope for some new village feuds between NIMBYs and opportunists.

Linda Snell would probably have plenty to say (she usually does)

 

Here's one of the scriptwriters - Keri Davies

https://keridavies.wordpress.com/about-me/

[Hando]

1 hour ago, DenysW said:

I think that Ambridge is a early-1950s metropolitan view of what 1930s rural Worcestershire ought to be like. So it actually is the Vale of Evesham, but without any benefit of caring about detail geography. Add in several decades of plots written by teams of people who also didn't care about geography, and obsessive followers who believe it is all true and thus ought to be consistent, and this is what you end up with. I prefer fully-imaginary landscapes (Sodor, Alnogg, Lyonesse, Castle Aching) over this, but am a bit impatient with all of them when there's so much bizarre reality out there - the Great Central crossing the Midland actually at Loughborough Midland station anyone? Or an LNWR-operated branch-line terminus in the same town?

The Loughborough references are alarmingly close to home for me (3 miles close to be specific! 😆).

 

Jokes aside, I personally prefer a blend of reality and fiction for my modelling.

Since starting this thread, I've found that fully imaginary locations can sometimes be a bit of a ballache for anyone trying to make sense of them, as the quality, breadth and depth of lore is entirely dependent on the skill of the writers, and in the case of places invented for television, film or radio, this can vary significantly as staff change.

Today, I've been over to the Leicestershire and Rutland Records Office studying failed railway proposals in the county to find some inspiration. Some of them would make for some good layouts with a lot of potential in terms of operational interest, like the North Leicestershire Railway which in 1874 was planned to link the GN&LNWJR and the Midland's Old Dalby cutoff, with the Charnwood Forest Railway and Midland Railway's main line at Loughborough. Meanwhile, the proposed branch line from the GCR to Newtown Linford would, in particular, make for quite a nice Branch Line Terminus, so I am rather tempted to have a go at making that. Watch this space...

[Hando]

17 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said:

@Hando - have you considered contacting the scriptwriters and suggesting this as a new plotline?

 

e.g. Government funding has magically appeared for the reopening of the local branch line.

Perhaps because of something like a big new housing development in Felpersham.

Plenty of scope for some new village feuds between NIMBYs and opportunists.

Linda Snell would probably have plenty to say (she usually does)

 

Here's one of the scriptwriters - Keri Davies

https://keridavies.wordpress.com/about-me/

I'm not too sure about that Keith, knowing how sensational plotlines are in vogue at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if such an episode happened, some poor Ambridge resident would end up getting hit Huskisson-style by the opening train! 🤣

[MJI]

AFAIR it is a merge between Hanbury and Inkberrow. Never listened to it.

 

Lickey route to west, Evesham loop to east, joining at Barnt Green, to south the Worcester Evesham line.

 

So do you want Midland or GWR?

[MR Chuffer]

Has no one picked up that Tony Archer has an extensive model railway of Hollerton Junction in the loft? So it must be real! There were a few episodes where he quibbled about his birthday present, he just wanted another loco but others couldn't/wouldn't understand. See here for a reference.

Edited March 19, 2023 by MR Chuffer

[Helmdon]

On 06/03/2023 at 19:06, Hando said:

The Loughborough references are alarmingly close to home for me (3 miles close to be specific! 😆).

 

 

I’m about 800 yards from the Midland (in SMJ guise) crossing over the GC heading east…

[DenysW]

23 hours ago, MR Chuffer said:

So it must be real!

Have you consulted your GP? Or your significant other (apply gender(s) as appropriate)? A fantasy layout as part of a fictional drama series used to justify that both are 'real. Phew.

[MR Chuffer]

2 wrongs make a right?!!! Or Rule 1....