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West Moors
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| ... A VILLAGE IN THE MAKING: The years 1866 to 1888 could be regarded as 'golden years' for the hamlet of West Moors as regards railway operations - though the village itself at the start of this period (Salisbury line opening for traffic) was very small with well-scattered dwellings and it had little 'focus' apart from the station itself and the small school / associated chapel. West Moors, with its station from 1867, lay on the local portion of the main line to Poole (and later Bournemouth), Dorchester & Weymouth in the west and Southampton & London 'up country' to the east. And of course, local and through traffic was also drawn down the newly opened Salisbury line.
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| ... RAILWAY TRAFFIC: The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway [S&DJcRly], to link Salisbury on the L & SWR main 'West of England' route [ opened throughout just six years previously ] with Wimborne and the south coast through West Moors, was opened for traffic on the 20th December, 1866. It is not entirely clear why the opening of the station was delayed until 1st August, 1867; apparently the L & SWR (who by this time wholly-owned the 'main line' from Southampton to Dorchester), weren't that keen and you can understand why! After all, just because there was a junction didn't mean you had to have a physical station - with all the costs involved. However there must have been the thought that with the requirement for line maintenance, gently increasing goods traffic and a limited amount of passenger interchange, a station with its associated services should be provided - as outlined in the original 1861 proposal. Traffic on the Salisbury line was slow to take off & the S&DJcRly were keen to 'anchor' the southern end of their line - so keen that they agreed to pay £20 p.a. to the L & SWR towards the upkeep of the building! |
| ... RAILWAY OPERATIONS: Between the 1860s and the end of the nineteenth century, great changes occurred on the railways of this country. Locomotives, rolling-stock and signalling / control all improved dramatically over those four decades, though the process was initially slow and it sometimes needed a major accident to bring about a change in procedure or improvement in equipment.
Mixed goods and passenger trains were still quite usual in the middle part of Victoria's reign but such formations were gradually phased out by the 1880s (except on lightly-trafficked branch lines), leading to smoother operation overall. Small goods/parcels were still carried of course - an enlarged guards van or fully-fitted single goods wagon being used, but they were engineered in such a way that they didn't affect passenger comfort - though the loading/unloading would add precious minutes to the schedule. During the last two decades of the 19th century locomotives were developed that would see service well into the last days of main-line steam in this country, being more fuel efficient, easier to handle and maintain and providing a little more comfort for the footplate crew. Although cabs were still sparse, some protection was provided to keep the worst of the elements at bay. With the rapid growth of railway route miles and services & the need to maximise profit, safety had not been of the highest order and through the 1860s and early 1870s there were several major accidents across the national railway system. Many of the failures were not so much mechanical as due to human error - long hours were worked - 12 hour shifts (sometimes more) on six days a week being common practice. Public pressure forced Parliament to attempt to control practices through the agency of the Board of Trade; regulations enacted in 1871 & 1873 placed a duty on the railway companies to improve safety. Signalling as we would understand the term was remarkably slow to catch on except for the most rudimentary control purposes - though by 1890 most elements that presented a danger of train collision/conflict had been eliminated. The system however still depended on everyone knowing their job and doing it well - the latter being often the weak point. The use of the 'block' system (where trains are not allowed to enter a defined section of track until the next signal-box has notified 'line clear'), did not come into general use until the 1880s: this was the 'Absolute Block' system, as compared to the 'Permissive Block' where a train could enter a length where a train was known to be provided that the train crew exercised caution: the risk of accident was obvious! It took even longer - near to the end of the 19th century - before 'lock and block' was generally adopted whereby signalmen were physically prevented from setting a 'road' (or path) in conflict with blocks of the track being occupied. Here in West Moors, it is not clear exactly when a signal-box appeared to control the junction & section. We do know that it was on the south side of the junction, only moving to be near the Station Road crossing / on the end of the 'up' platform in 1904. The principal of having all signals & points controlled from a single location had been established very early in railway operations, but early such 'frames' were only a collection of levers with a rudimentary cover. In the 1871 census, for example, just one "signalman" (Thomas Larcombe) is listed, together with a "pointman" (Albert Tarrant - lodging with Mr. Larcombe in one of the railway cottages adjacent to the junction) & a young "time-keeper" (James Tiller). Given that a man was required to operate the junction's points, it suggests that signalling & control was rudimentary at this time. The fact that in this year, we still have someone to regulate trains by the clock suggests that the 'Permissive Block' (with physical token / tickets on the S&DJcRly) was very much in place. |
| Ten years later (1881), Thomas Larcombe has been joined by John Woolford, almost certainly a relative-by-marriage [ the widower Thomas married Mary Woolford in spring 1872 ], and no sign of other staff as above, so I think we can now postulate that the signal-box would approximate to the 'standard' model of an upper 'working' or lever floor over a lower/enclosed frame room - the latter with rudimentary interlocking apparatus; this was probably installed between 1881 & 1891. This complement of signalling personnel would be enough to ensure the smooth running of the railway. In 1891, there is also a 'signal lad' shown - and we can deduce, if we hadn't already known from elsewhere, that the full "Absolute Block" working with inter-locking of signals & points, bell-codes between boxes etc., was in use, in addition to the "token control" in use on the Salisbury single line**. The requirement for a 'signal lad' shows that there was plenty of work for someone to climb the gantrys re-filling the lamps as well as general oiling / greasing of cable supports, wheels, switchgear etc. |
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| Key to abbreviations used in the diagram ... which
shows (as I understand it), the location of crossings, signal-boxes,
crossing-lodges in the early 1880s. UXg = Uddens Crossing; AfXg = Ameysford Crossing; WMXg = West Moors Crossing; WBXg = Woolsbridge Crossing; NLXg = Newman's Lane Crossing; RXg = Revel's Crossing |
| [**The "Salisbury line" between Alderbury
Junction and West Moors Junction was operated from 1885 onwards using 'tokens'
or 'tablets' to facilitate safety ... a single line with limited passing places
at stations. In this fashion, the signalman had to signal ahead to the next box
down the line, and until he got the correct response, the tablet could not be
released from the block equipment; once released this was handed to the driver
as 'authority' to enter that section, being exchanged at the next Box down the
line for the next tablet (or, at West Moors / down trains & Alderbury
Junction / up trains) being given up completely on entering double-line/block
working which did not require tablets. Prior to 1885, only physical 'tokens'
were in use - the driver had to have the token to proceed along a particular
section, but although authority was sought for the train/locomotive to go
forward, there was no physical method to prevent the token being issued
by a signalman when another train was in fact occupying that section. Although the line was always regarded by the L&SWR (and later the Southern Railway / BR Southern Region) as a 'branch line', it carried a remarkable amount of 'through' traffic from as far away as South Wales.] |
| ... POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD CHANGES: By inspecting the 10-yearly census returns, we can make an estimate of the population changes and associated 'professions' - and these are summarised in the diagrams below; note that between 1881 & 1891 there appears to be a 'hesitation' in the increase in the size of the village - but I suspect this is to do with boundary movements (of the West Parley civil parish bounds): for example, some of the dwellings around Three Cross (or Three Legged Cross) were 'allotted' to Verwood rather than West Parley; another apparent anomaly is that Newman's Farm, nowadays part of West Moors parish (and close to the 'centre' of the ancient heart of the community) was for much of the nineteenth century part of Gussage All Saints - this was because that farm was part of the Mannington estate holdings, the owners of which were domiciled in the 'Gussages'. And it is worthy of note that a large part of what we now know as Ferndown (formerly Fern Down) was part of the Hampreston parish, including the crossing-lodge at Dolman's Farm and Stewart's Nursery.
It is always intriguing to trace the persistence (or otherwise) of family names through the ages. Looking at census returns for the 30 years covered above, several names can be traced throughout much of that period, and still found in the twentieth century: they are Ferrett, Frampton, Hatchard, Jacobs, Larcombe, Lockyer, Revel, Stainer, Stone, Tiller, Wilcox & Woolford. The Framptons, Hatchards, Jacobs', Lockyers & Stones have had a presence in the West Moors/Three Cross area since at least 1841, the year of the first national census & inspecting the modern telephone directory, these names can still be found in profusion scattered across this part of Dorset, with the Jacobs' and Lockyers particularly well represented. The railway of course either brought people into the area - usually from elsewhere on the L & SWR network, or gave employment to those previously working on the land. The Larcombes, Tillers & Wilcoxs were associated with the railway throughout (though I believe the Wilcox family hails from "Gussage-s" area and a scion moved across here when the railway arrived). The Jacobs' (various branches along Newman's Lane) moved out of agricultural labouring after the station opened - some of the family joining the platelayers gangs. On the subject of families, it is interesting to trace how the railway kept employment 'in the family': for instance, John Wilcox had taken up employment at West Moors as one of the 'railway gatemen' by 1861 and he was joined by his son, also called John, a few years later in the same profession - the family eventually moved into the Crossing Lodge and were to be associated with the village well into the twentieth century. John Tiller joined the plate-laying gang based in the village long before the station & junction had been built, showing up in the 1861 census, living with his family in one of the railway cottages hard-by the junction; he obviously put in a word for his son James, because by the 1871 census this young man was listed as the 'Timekeeper', unmarried and still living in No.1, Railway Cottages: a very useful addition to the family income! The tradition continues in 1881, because it appears by that year Walter Tiller is now a porter at the junction. Thomas Larcombe was a widower at the census date in 1871, living in No.2, Railway Cottages; however, that year he married a near-neighbour, Mary Woolford, bearing him several daughters over the following years, one of who (Florence) will re-appear in our story in the early 20th century. One of Mary's relations, John (possibly a brother - not determined yet) joins Thomas in the signalbox by the time of the 1881 census & in 1891, John Woolford's son, Henry is now a railway porter. And if you are the 'Station Agent' (i.e., in charge of the station), then naturally you are going to make sure that the family is looked after and Henry Fenton, holding this post in 1881 has his son, Harry, alongside him as the telegraph clerk - see later in this note. Ten years later, under the tenure of James Hallett as Station Master, Martha his daughter is working as the booking clerk - a highly responsible job for a youngster. As for the Jacobs, it's difficult to keep track (sorry for the pun) of their varied familial involvement with the London & South Western Railway, but in summary, but for the various branches of these stalwarts of Newman's Lane, the L & SWR would be hard-pressed to find platelayers (i.e., the people who keep the track & permanent way safe). The men & boys of this family were agricultural labourers in the 1840s (before the railway arrived), but by 1851, at least one of the three branches of the line were working part-time on the gangs: by 1861, Mark Jacobs was working full-time on the railway & thirty years later, he is still listed, at the age of 64, as a 'railway platelayer': in total in this last decade of the nineteenth century, there are no fewer than five of the clan (brothers, cousins) so-listed: John, Mark, Jesse, Walter & Edwin - a truly remarkable bunch! As regards types of occupation more generally, this table attempts to portray the change over the same period as that above (i.e. 1861 to 1891):
[ * where a figure is something ".5", then this indicates that the person (s) involved are listed as engaged in occupations across more than one 'class' ] Note that 'farming/agriculture' in 1861 accounts for just under two-thirds (63%) of the total working population but has declined to just over a third (36%) thirty years later. There is a notable change of course in those employed in connection with the railway. The biggest 'step-change' comes about of course with the opening of the station in 1867; station agent (later station master), porters, signalmen (or pointmen at first) & additional crossing-keepers required: after that, a gradual increase as more work is generated by the availability of easy communication with the region - a lot of goods traffic, at this time passenger movements were quite a small element of work of the railway staffs. Another interesting statistic is that following the figures for 'domestic/house-keeping'. There is a dramatic increase in the last ten years of this survey as 'middle-class' families bring enough income into the household to justify employing staff in the house (or retaining young daughters who had recently left school); this trend would continue into the 1920s, before dropping away again in the more egalitarian era ushered in by the Second World War. In the 'skilled/semi-skilled' category, in early years, these are taken up with carpentry, bricklaying & general carting. By the latter years of the 19th century though, rather more refined skills are to be found, such as dressmaking, laundering and French polishing! One teacher ('education') throughout, but given the increase in numbers of pupils [ in the 70s by 1895, from only 20-or-so just twenty years previously ], an "school assistant" was appointed. There is more about the school and youngsters in the next section. Note also that as late as the 1891 census, there is no resident doctor or clergyman. I believe that the nearest doctor had to be summoned from Hampreston - but of course we are in an era when people in communities such as West Moors would rather look after themselves than pay rather punitive fees to have the doctor attend. It is worth noting at this point that as late as the mid-1890s, all employment is within the local area - no 'commuting' here of course; around the turn of the century though (covered in the next phase of these notes), 'incomers' start to build "villas" in the area and a certain amount of travelling to employment elsewhere is undertaken. |
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... a little diversion here: this cottage (semi-detached) on
Pinehurst Road (opposite the junction with modern-day Woolslope Road) has been
extended / modified several times in its lifetime, but the 'core' of the
building certainly dates from the latter half of Queen Victoria's reign. It is
shown on a map for 1888 as standing alone in an elongated plot of about a third
of an acre extending back into the moorland - with no other buildings nearby -
there is a well shown to the front of the property; only Woolslope Farm is
adjacent to the south - and it may be that this was a cottage built to house
families of farmworkers. By comparing the census returns with the map noted
above, I tentatively date this to the 1870s or early 1880s, but it could be
earlier. It has some similarities with the appearance of the crossing lodges
built for the railway in the 1840s at West Moors and Amey's Ford (Dolman's
Lane). If anyone viewing this has additional information I would be grateful to know it. If my surmise is correct, then apart from the old Crossing Lodge on Station Road, this is one of the oldest buildings in the village. |
| ... THE SCHOOL & CHILDREN: As noted below, the numbers of children increased dramatically through the final part of this period. This came about for three reasons: there was an inward migration of young families from elsewhere; families that were here (or had settled here) were experiencing reasonable living conditions and this encouraged the development of large families, and finally, the slowly improving conditions meant that more children (and indeed mothers) survived childbirth and early years. We know that there has been a school in West Moors - probably co-located with a chapel, since 1843. Details of this early school are elusive. It seems that it was located close to (or perhaps on - less likely) the site of the modern-day Memorial Hall on Station Road. In the 1861 census we have an explicit mention of a 'school and post office', being occupied by Edward Pottle (age 73), a "Chelsea Pensioner" but carrying on the occupation of letter carrier. In 1851, he is listed simply as "Chelsea Pensioner", with his wife, Charlotte, as the 'school-mistress' and there is also a 10 year-old daughter with the surname Ware. In 1871, Edward (or Edwin) is still there - now a sprightly 83 year-old, with his wife Charlotte who is, note, 24 years his junior! Charlotte held the teaching post in both 1851 & 1861, even though she doesn't appear in the latter census. On the night of the count she was indeed in the 'West Parley' parish, but staying at the Rectory in West Parley - for what reason we'll probably never know though it was the week after Easter and the school was almost certainly closed. This means that Mrs. Pottle was responsible for local schooling for around a quarter-of-a-century, with Miss Eliza Lavender taking over in 1875: great play is made of the fact that Miss Lavender was a 'certificated' teacher; presumably Charlotte Pottle did not hold any formal teaching qualification? Mrs. Blandford (as Eliza became on marriage around 1879/80) sadly died in 1887 aged 33 leaving a widower husband Arthur and two young daughters. She was succeeded by Louisa Nickels, unmarried and having her sister, Lucy living with her. More anon. Back to Charlotte Pottle though - and perhaps a less than happy ending for someone who gave their whole life to the service of the community. In the 1881 census, she is simply listed as a 'pauper', her husband having died in 1876 at the respectable age of 88. Charlotte died in Wimborne in 1886, aged 74, and given her circumstances five years earlier, it seems likely that she ended her days in the Wimborne workhouse. Tracing the rise in both the school roll and general population of children is interesting: In 1861 there were 40 children aged 14 or under in the census, out of a total population for West Moors (loosely defined - includes the area from Three Cross in the north to Trickett's Cross in the south, then west to Dolman's Farm) of 104. By 1891, there are now 76 children (out of 205 total population): the proportion of children to total population was reasonably constant at ~38%. Regarding school-age numbers, things get a little difficult, as not all children that you might think would be at school were listed as "scholars": it was not unusual for boys especially around the age of 13 upwards to simply drop away from school and work on the farm/small-holding. Girls too might not complete a full education (as it was then) to age 14. Allowing for these problems of analysis, it appears that the 'roll' in the mid-1860s to early/mid 1870s was ~20 to 30 - relatively easily managed by a single teacher, given that only the most basic of education was attempted. By the opening of the new school building in 1896 (still in use) on Station Road, the school-roll was around 75. Noting that the age range of pupils would be from ~3 or 4 years to 14, this was a formidable challenge for a single Mistress and it is not surprising that it became customary for the older girls to be entrusted with the supervision and basic care of the youngest infants. This would allow the teacher to concentrate on the older pupils. However, by 1891, a "school assistant" (Mary Frampton - daughter of the nearby local grocer/market-gardener) is in place. Education was basic: the infamous "three-Rs" were the template - sufficient for the boys to do simple figure-work, take up an apprenticeship (age 16) and manage money; the girls were expected, eventually, to become the wives and mothers of the community and education for them was notoriously tailored to that end. By the end of the 19th century though, children who were especially able might progress to one of the local 'Grammar' schools, though this would mean that parents would have to find a considerable amount of money - families with more than one gifted child might have an agonising choice as to which of their offspring would be supported through higher education. |
| ... THE STATION: The building on first-opening was a single-storey affair - not uncommon at the time and it appears that there was no resident 'agent' (or Station Master). This doesn't mean that there wasn't any such person - just that in the early days, he didn't live at West Moors, perhaps travelling from somewhere else. Also, in 1871 (by the census - just 4 years after the station opening) we don't appear to have any porters or similar which underlines just how quiet and under-used the new station was in the early days. The earliest I can find a reference to someone actually living at the station-house is 1875 (John Samuel Lever) and it may be that the growth in goods traffic and the need to manage the increase in staff required someone to be 'in charge'. This would mean that the station 'house' would need to be extended to the final, double-storey building. |
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This sketch diagram is based on high-resolution mapping of the time.
It shows the railway 'infrastructure' in the early 1880s. [Key: CL: crossing lodge DGS: down-side goods siding RC: railway cottages SB: signal box SP: signal post UPS: up-side siding |
| The station did not at anytime have a canopy shelter - again not
unusual for 'light-use' locations. This table sets out the names of the Station Masters/Agents as I've been able to determine - the dates are based on entries in various census returns, trade directories etc., and are not necessarily the exact years of post-holding:-
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| ... THE INN: It seems than an "inn" was established not too long after the building of the station in 1867. In the census of 1871, just four years later, James Spicer (a 47 year-old widower) is keeping a smithy doubling as an inn, at "No. 5 Station Road". He has his 20 year-old un-married daughter, Emily as "housekeeper" and his 17 y.o. son John is listed as a blacksmith. It seems clear to me that this is primarily the village blacksmith's but local enterprise has provided a room to let for casual travellers. We hark back to section 2 ('The Iron Road arrives') and it is suggested that until the railway reached Bournemouth (in March 1870), travellers wishing to avoid the crossing from Hamworthy and the trek across Poole Heath, and not wanting to continue a journey after dark across the vast expanse of Parley Common, would alight at West Moors 'halt' and obviously would require a bed & board for the night. Judging by the position in the census return and comparing with later maps (circa 1880), this Inn / Smithy was on the site of the present-day junction of Ashurst Road with Station Road - probably on the southside thereof. It appears that the Spicer family came from Sturminster Newton. Ten years later (1881) all mention of 'blacksmith' has disappeared (as have his daughter and son!), but he has now a wife at his side - Susanna - formerly of Chalbury, Dorset: James is simply listed as a 'Licensed Victualler' & the building is now known as the "Railway Inn PH". The population of West Moors (see above) has increased now - and with or without accommodation being provided, there was probably enough trade to not bother with the blacksmiths' apron. Moving on another ten years, to 1891, when we know for certain that the "inn" was still around the Ashurst Road area (then just beginning to be formed), the establishment is now being run by James Bailey with his wife Mary and no fewer than 5 children: Frank (aged 19) is listed as a bricklayer, as is his father; then Emma (aged 18) who is a 'domestic servant' - probably employed within the Inn. There is Edward (aged 14), who is also a bricklayer/labourer at a young age - probably helping his Dad & older brother in what must be at this time a busy trade. Then we have Gertrude (age 11) and James (age 8) who are scholars. It looks as if the main business / income came from bricklaying/building - the area was on the cusp of an explosion in building - and mother & daughter ran the Inn as a sideline. By 1891, the main-line railway traffic had been diverted away from West Moors for three years, and there were fast, easy links direct to Bournemouth so the need for overnight stays had evaporated. The Inn would have served a purely local purpose for working men to slake their thirst. By the end of the 19th century (roughly 1895), James Bailey can be found running the "Railway Hotel" just behind the crossing house - where it remains to this day, albeit under the name of "Tap and Railway" and much enlarged. The Bailey family play an important part in our story well into the 20th century, not only for running the only hostelry in the village until the 1970s, but because they owned and developed parcels of land through the 1910s and 1920s. |
| ... OTHER UNFULFILLED RAILWAY SCHEMES: Within the period covered by this section, railway politics reared its head again: recall that in 1861 (previous section), as part of the proposal that saw the construction of the Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway [ S & D Jc. Rly .. the 'Salisbury line' ], two other line were envisaged - one to run from West Moors to Poole and the other from West Moors to the Ringwood - Christchurch line (not at that time built). These schemes were never pursued, but in 1878 (11th November) a meeting was called to consider promoting a parliamentary Bill for a railway line from West Moors to a new (third!) station in Bournemouth - which by this year was a rapidly expanding resort; estimated population for the town was circa 15000 in this year, up by roughly 9000 in just six years. The "politics" intrude because it was intended that the Great Western Railway (G.W.R.)- the great 'rival' to the L & SWR, should be asked to operate the service - leaving its (then) terminus in Salisbury, exercising 'through-running' over the S & D Jc. Rly., then over the proposed line to a station on the northern outskirts of Bournemouth. It was hoped that lucrative traffic would be drawn from the English Midlands, South Wales & the West of England, areas served by the G.W.R. The new line should ... "commence in the parish of West Parley, by a junction with the Salisbury & Dorset Railway about 40 chains (about half a mile) from the junction of that railway with the LSWR". How it would have crossed the main line (Ringwood - Wimborne) isn't clear - presumably on the level via a 'cross-over'; a recipe for delay and accident! The scheme did not go ahead. And in 1883, another minor scheme that came to naught was for the construction of a spur to allow trains to travel towards Ringwood from Salisbury (and vice-versa); this was known as the 'West Moors Junction Railway' and was part of a wider scheme which would eventually see the linking of the (then) two Bournmouth stations ( East/Central and West); the building of the Corfe Mullen cut-off (allowing Somerset and Dorset Joint services to avoid reversal at Wimborne) and, most important of all, the building of the Lymington Junction to Christchurch (via Sway) line, which is of course the 'main line' of today. This last line, once built, would reduce the status of the 'old road' and eventually, in the 1960s, render the line 'surplus to requirements'. |
| ... RAILWAYS AND THE COMMUNITY: A railway entered the life of any community through which it passed to the extent that it became a 'normal' part of life. Whole families were employed on the railway, either at the station or elsewhere as has already been mentioned above. The census returns of this time show this very clearly - young men fresh out of school (aged 14 or so) would often follow their fathers and uncles into employment on the L & SWR, if not locally then elsewhere in the area and of course the means to travel to and from work at, say, Bournemouth (West), Salisbury, Dorchester, Bishopstoke (later Eastleigh) or Southampton was readily available. Working on the railway was a "job for life" - highly sought-after employment, though not necessarily well paid. For others in this area in these latter decades of the nineteenth century life was not easy. I suppose you could argue that it never was so, but agriculture nationally was going through a marked decline due to a combination of persistent poor weather and cheap imports from the Empire. For this immediate area of east Dorset the soil is not of the best quality, the farms were never particularly large and over the long term this decline was never to be reversed - apart from temporary demand generated by two world wars. As land values declined, so did the notional value of the great estates along with the income from leased farms and we might regard this period as the beginning of the end of the 'great' houses locally such as Uddens, Merley and Canford. But, there is an interesting counter-trend that can be identified locally during this period: the growth of 'market gardening' across the village. Some farms turned over to quick-response "cash crops" to supply the explosion in demand as Bournemouth grew and the railway of course provided a convenient way of transporting goods. In 1871 there were no "market gardeners" (or similar) listed and in 1881, just one; however by 1891, five men are running commercial nurseries in this little hamlet and there is also an increase in the numbers listed as 'farmers' - a doubling of numbers between 1871 & 1891. And of course Stewart's Nursery, specialising in supply of plants to gardens across the country did great trade through the station. Incidentally, the tradition of nurseries / market-gardeners persisted well into the latter part of the 20th century - finally succumbing in the latter third of the twentieth century to the ability of land-owners to make much more money by selling the land for housing, care-homes etc. It is interesting to recall and review the statistics relating to population, trades etc., over the second-half of the nineteenth century. For example, by the time of the 1871 census, the population accredited to 'West Moors' is around 160, which was up from a figure of 80-90 in 1841; roughly a doubling in the first 25 years or so after the railway arrived (in 1847). In that 1871 census, the usual cluster of farmers, farm labourers etc., are present but now we have such as a carpenter, blacksmith (doubling as the innkeeper as noted above), general shop/grocery enterprise and a "general dealer in provisions". The opening of the station in 1867 helped accelerate these changes and it quickly became an important centre for the distribution of goods and services to a wider area: the goods area of the station, albeit small, quickly became a 'hub' of the village and from this period a gentle organic growth of a 'new' village took place - principally around and immediately to the north of the railway. The railway brought goods such as coal, that quickly replaced the use of products of the nearby heathland; the gradual decline in the taking of gorse, peat and turf to heat homes, cook by etc., led to a marked change in the 'look' of the tracts of heathland. 'Exotic' goods are now available to those that can afford to buy them - perhaps ordered for delivery through the growing network of post offices. The railway encouraged this 'small packet' traffic. On a social / cultural level, as the station and its services buried itself into the background of rural life, the provision of more up-to-date news (via London newspapers delivered in the early morning) helped to advance awareness of the world beyond a day's horse-ride away. The availability of an efficient (and relatively cheap) postal service was a boon: there was also the means for people to move away, either temporarily or on a permanent basis, to look for work. One specific benefit that the railway brought was the building of the telegraph lines alongside the railway by the Electric Telegraph Company. The wires were laid and operating not long after the opening of the railway in 1847. As well as railway operating data, with telegraph offices in Ringwood and Wimborne, messages could be sent up and down the network using that company's lines. Telegraph offices were in the main co-located with railway stations across the country - the two 'engines' of Victorian modernity together in one place. With the opening of the station in West Moors in 1867, this facility would be available to the local community - though it is not until the early 1880s that a dedicated 'telegraph clerk' is in place at the station - as noted elsewhere, the young son of the Station Master, Harry Fenton fresh out of school at age 14(^). Perhaps even more fundamentally, with the arrival of the telegraph a mean of coordinating time across the Kingdom was provided. Gradually 'local' time was supplanted by 'Greenwich' or 'London' time - the time signals being transmitted once-per-day over the telegraph network. [ See note (*) below for historical background to the Victorian telegraph network.] [ (^) Looking at the ages and places of birth of Henry Fenton's several children, he must have taken the post of Station Master between 1875 & 1879; there appears to have been a tragic sequence of events after Henry and his wife, Mary, came to West Moors. She died in July 1880, aged 38, having the year previously given birth to a young son, and Henry died (cause unknown to me) in December 1882 at the age of 53.] We can only imagine the circumstances at this distance in history - and it appears that the orphaned six children left West Moors, moving to Devon, perhaps staying with relatives.] [ (*) Britain's railways were at the forefront of provision of telegraph services. Several commercial providers constructed independent networks - paying rent to use railway land to construct the network of wires alongside the tracks. The railway companies used the telegraph sparingly to assist in day-to-day control of trains, but they offered to send/receive telegraphic messages over these networks to the general public for a fee. In large towns and cities the telegraph companies had their own staffs to run the system but elsewhere, the railway hosted the equipment and effectively ran the service, often delivering the telegrams free of charge by porter if the recipient was no more than a mile from the station. However, in the late 1860s, the GPO (General Post Office - government provider of the postal service) was given a monopoly on provision of telegrams and in 1869/1870 they bought-out all the privately-owned telegraph companies, including those running in the service of (or alongside) the railways, but the GPO initially used the existing network of lines and offices to run the service. Gradually the GPO set up telegraph facilities at 'Money Order' post offices across the country, developing its own network of telegraph poles and wires alongside roads (allowing ease of access) and the railway networks reverted to being used solely for railway purposes. ] |
| ... MAIN LINE NO MORE: On the 6th March, 1888 the "direct" (or Sway) line between Brockenhurst & Christchurch (thence to Bournemouth [East]) opened, followed not long after by connecting lines across the northern suburbs of Bournemouth and finally, on 19th May, 1893, the 'Holes Bay cut-off' between Poole and Hamworthy Junction was opened for traffic. These changes effectively brought to an end the 'glory' days of the 'Old Road' and its stations. But, for West Moors and Fern Down, a new chapter was just about to be written; changes that would see the first of several dramatic 'growth spurts' in housing in the area. The story continues in the next section ....... |
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