The Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway

Part 2

Part 1 – Then

Peter Towey

In the first part of this article, we shall look at some of the history behind the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway, followed in Part 2, by a résumé of a walk along its trackbed that was undertaken in 2020. While it is a fairly long article, it does cover the history of a abandoned line and looks at it from two contrasting angles. It is hoped that we may be able to publish more of these articles in the future (to all budding authors, please get walking!) - Ed

The origins of the B&CDR stem from the desire to include much of the Cotswolds rural areas of Gloucestershire into the national rail network, which otherwise would remain incredibly isolated from the rest of the country. Upon completion of the railway line, it was also envisaged that a direct link would be created between North Oxfordshire’s iron ore fields and the Coalfield of South Wales thus making it possible for the carriage of important minerals and valuable traffic along the proposed route.

The overall route was created in stages by various railway companies all of which eventually became a part of the Great Western Railway company. The Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway once completed, would eventually connect the two towns via junctions at either end – one at Lansdown in Cheltenham and the other at Kings Sutton, just south of Banbury.

The use of existing main lines would prove pivotal in the completion of this cross-country south west, north east route, which was to pass over some of the highest hills in the Cotswolds escarpment by way of many deep cuttings, high embankments, bridges, viaducts, and tunnels.

Main Towns and Cities

The 1st part of the route to be opened that would eventually be used by the B&CDR was the spur between Cheltenham’s Lansdown station on the main Midland Line to Cheltenham’s St. James station which was more central to the town. This was first opened on October 23rd 1847 by the GWR, who had taken over operations from the line’s original proposer the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway.

At the far north eastern end of what would become the route of the B&CDR, the Oxford and Rugby Railway opened between Oxford and Banbury on September 2nd 1850 which, albeit unknowingly at the time, created the 2nd section of the line that would be traversed by the B&CDR between Kings Sutton and Banbury.

The next piece of the B&CDR jigsaw to fall into place was when the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) opened fully on June 4th 1853 providing through passage between Oxford to Worcester and on to Wolverhampton.

Filling the Gaps – The Branch Lines

With these major railway lines now having been constructed connecting the larger towns and centres, thought was given over time to the fact that the more minor and peripheral communities and villages across the Cotswolds region would be missing out on an important link to what had become the national rail network. To that end, a series of branch lines were considered that would join these more lightly populated, countrified areas with the rail network.

The first of these to come to fruition was the

(Route map of the B&CDR – The Railway Magazine August 1955)

Chipping Norton station with a ‘Prairie’ tank awaiting departure for Kingham in 1960 (Geoffrey Bannister)

Chipping Norton Railway – a branch line that would connect Chipping Norton to the east, with the main OW&WR. A new station was needed, and it was decided to site this between Shipton and Adlestrop on the OW&WR. The new station was named Chipping Norton Junction and it opened on June 8th 1855 for goods trains and on August 18th 1855 for passengers. The first real stretch of what was to become the B&CDR had begun to take traffic.

The next branch line to appear was the Bourtonon-the-Water Railway which would use the same connecting station at Chipping Norton junction on the OW&WR to reach the village of Bourton-on-theWater to the south east. This opened to passengers and freight on March 1st 1862 and would help in growing Bourton-on-the-Water as a village that many tourists would come to visit.

In the meantime, the East Gloucestershire Railway had been formed in 1861 with a view to creating a railway line that would connect Cheltenham to Lechlade and then diverge both to Witney and Faringdon, thus providing 2 routes into London. The line was to be routed via, Charlton Kings, Andoversford and Fairford.

Fearing unwanted competition from rival railway companies in the area, the GWR offered incentives for the EGR to cease plans for their conceived branch to Witney and to create a railway line to Bourton-onthe-Water instead.

For varying reasons and following later EGR propositions, the East Gloucestershire Railway did not come to fruition and after nearly a decade, a new company entitled the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway was eventually formed in the early 1870s to resurrect the earlier proposals of the EGR and build a railway line that would connect Cheltenham with Banbury, making use of the already existing Bourton-on-the-Water and Chipping Norton branch lines.

To this end, construction work began in late 1874 particularly on the western end of the line between Lansdown Junction in Cheltenham and Bourton-on-the-Water. Work was finally completed in 1881 and the Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway was eventually opened on June 1st 1881, allowing passengers to travel from Cheltenham St. James as far as Chipping Norton. Through trains would operate between Cheltenham and Chipping Norton Junction and with those wishing to carry on to Chipping Norton having to change trains here.

Following completion of the western section of the line, construction could then continue in earnest on the eastern section between Chipping Norton and Kings Sutton, a good part of this of which had already been completed by 1880. Work continued on this stretch of line including major engineering works such as a viaduct and 2 tunnels with the

Railway cutting construction between Andoversford & Notgrove 1870s / 80s (The Mantle family)) Bourton-on-the-Water station in 1914 with Harold Simpson leaving for WW1 (The Simpson family)

Through the A44 road bridge to the southern portal of the Chipping Norton Tunnel in 1960 (Colin Maggs)

Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway finally opening to the public from Chipping Norton to Kings Sutton on April 6th 1887. At Kings Sutton station, which had been opened by the GWR on June 1st 1872, the B&CDR would join the Oxford and Rugby Railway main line by way of a junction for its short, 4 mile run north eastwards into Banbury.

At Last – a Through Route!

A through route was now available to both passengers and freight from Banbury in the Cherwell Valley to Cheltenham at the edge of the Cotswolds in the north east of the south western region of England. The Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway was utilised in the main as two separate branch line workings – one from Cheltenham to Chipping Norton Junction (re-named as Kingham on May 1st 1909 due to the potential confusion with Chipping Norton station) – from where passengers would have to change for onward travel to Banbury and vice versa.

The penultimate stretch of line to be completed, which would be used by trains traversing the B&CDR was a small section at the Cheltenham end of the line just south of Lansdown Junction that would curve to the left, heading south onto the Birmingham and Gloucester main line towards Gloucester. Even though the earthworks had been completed for this section more than two decades earlier, probably by the East Gloucestershire Railway company, it wasn’t

opened until the early 1900s. This curved section of line made up the 3rd arm of a triangular junction, allowing, for example, trains to run from the north Oxfordshire iron ore producing areas through to South Wales and for long distance services such as the ‘Ports to Ports express’ to utilise the B&CDR on its journey from Newcastle to Swansea. This southern arm of the triangular junction was known as the Hatherley Loop. The northern arm of the loop, of course, brought the line to Lansdown Junction where trains joined the Birmingham and Gloucester main line and could either branch off to the right to Cheltenham St. James terminus or continue northbound on the Birmingham and Gloucester line.

Hatherley Loop Junction from the Kingham line. Gloucester to the left, Lansdown Junction to the right (M. P. Barnsely coll.) The ‘Ports to Ports’ Swansea to Newcastle Express exiting the Kingham avoiding line in 1922 (H. G. W. Household)

The Missing Link

The final minor section of the B&CDR to be built was the Chipping Norton Junction (Kingham) avoiding line in 1906. Until then, any train that needed through passage between Banbury and Cheltenham had to reverse at Chipping Norton Junction which was, of course, inconvenient. To circumvent this inconvenience, the GWR constructed a bridge over the main OW&WR line and a junction to the west and east of the station allowing through trains to pass over, thus avoiding the need to reverse into Chipping Norton Junction. This triangular section became known as the Kingham Loop and was opened to goods traffic on January 8th 1906 and to passengers on May 1st 1906.

As soon as the Chipping Norton Junction avoiding was in place, it was used as a through route by the ‘Ports to Ports’ express, a long-distance service of up to 8 carriages that travelled from Newcastle-uponTyne to Cardiff initially and, later, to Swansea and continued using this route over the B&CDR until September 1939.

Disappointing Traffic Flow

Overall, the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway was a line that covered primarily rural and countrified areas, traffic levels remained modest throughout its life and it was never able to rise above the status of a branch line. The increase in road traffic with both private vehicle owners, buses and hauliers taking advantage of the vastly increasing UK road network in the post war years, meant that it was only a matter of time before rural branch lines such as the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway would experience a downturn in both passenger and freight numbers using their railway.

The End is in Sight!

In a similar fashion to its opening, various sections of the B&CDR were closed, and services withdrawn at various times, the first stretch to be closed being the Chipping Norton to Kings Sutton part of the line

Bloxham station prior to the cessation of passenger services in June 1951 (W. A. Camwell)

which finally closed to passenger traffic June 2nd 1951.

Encouraged by a newly elected Conservative government, railway closures began to gather pace with the emphasis on promoting road travel and to that end, the eastern end of the B&CDR was next to fall victim to circumstances of the time, with passengers making their final journeys between Cheltenham St. James and Kingham on October 13th 1962.

Effect Upon Freight

Freight services were then withdrawn between Chipping Norton and Rollright on November 30th 1962 and the final passenger trains ran on the Kingham to Chipping Norton section on December 1st 1962, with many local people turning out to mark the sad occasion. Freight however, continued to be transported from Bourton-on-the-Water to Kingham and from Kingham to Chipping Norton until the line was finally closed to all traffic on September 7th 1964, meaning the true end of all operations for what were the original Chipping Norton Railway and Bourton-on-the-Water Railway branches.

The section of line between Hook Norton and Adderbury having remained open until this point for freight services only, was officially closed on November 4th 1963, whilst at the far eastern end of the line the final closure saw the Adderbury to Kings Sutton section eventually close to all traffic in August 1969 having also remained open as a goods line only.

After the Official Closure

Following the closure of all official services on the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway, certain infrastructure remained, and services operated on the extremities of the line for a few years to come.

At the eastern end of the line, the junction at Kings Sutton with the old Oxford and Rugby Railway along with a short section of line remained open until 1971. At the western end of the route, Cheltenham St. James station and Malvern Road station had both closed to passengers on January 3rd 1966 with St. James continuing to take goods traffic until October 31st 1966.

Also at the western end, the section of double track between Malvern Road junction, where the Honeybourne Line converged and Lansdown junction where the lines met the Midland main line, continued to see traffic for several years.

Scheduled passenger workings continued operating from the Honeybourne line over this stretch to until March 23rd 1968 and thereafter it was used primarily as a diversionary route until August 25th 1976. The line was eventually lifted from July 1979.

Adderbury sidings with the final goods train in 1969 – Adderbury Historical Association) Cheltenham St. James station approach May 1964 (Ben Ashworth)

Part 2 – Now (2020)

Peter Towey and Paul Towey

This brings us to the second part of this article which takes a brief look at a walk undertaken in the summer of 2020 by my cousin Paul Towey and I, along as much of the trackbed, or course of it, as was possible between the former Cheltenham St. James station and Kingham to see just how the passage of 58 years since the line’s closure had treated the old Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway line.

Our walk was inspired by various factors – in addition to an ever growing interest in local history and past railway infrastructure in the area, the B&CDR held a particular fascination for more personal, pertinent reasons.

(Above) Cheltenham Spa St. James station 1960 (Lens of Sutton coll) (bottom) The same site in 2020 (Peter Towey) (Above) Malvern Road bridge 1964 (G. Adams & M. J. Stretton coll.) (below) in 2020 – Peter Towey)

The Family Link

Our Grandfather, Patrick Towey, worked for MacAlpines in construction and was among the foremen who oversaw the gangers working on the widening of the Lansdown Road bridge in Cheltenham circa 1940 – the sole reason this branch of our family came to be living in the town in the first place – which we still do to this day.

Then in the 1940s and 1950s, our Fathers, Michael Towey and James Towey were sent to boarding schools in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire respectively and both used to travel the line as children from Cheltenham St. James to Kingham before changing trains for their onward journeys.

So, when restrictions permitted during the ‘lockdown’ year of 2020, we made the decision to ‘walk the line’ and cover as much of the B&CDR trackbed course as we could, with the aim of putting together a full photographic record of the journey and recording any and all of the railway infrastructure that may still be in place.

We were incredibly and very pleasantly surprised at just how much of this railway infrastructure still remained after so many years of disuse and will attempt to convey this over the following paragraphs.

Leaving Cheltenham

There will be no surprise that the early stages of the walk in Cheltenham covers ground that is now very much developed, with the areas of Hatherley, Warden Hill, Leckhampton and Charlton Kings and their housing estates having swallowed up much of the trackbed.

Having said that, it does not take too much detective work to discover some or other remnants of the railway line even in the most built-up of areas.

From the site of the former St. James station and approach, now principally occupied by offices and a Waitrose, the trackbed has been converted into a walkway, first passing under St. Georges Road bridge, then Malvern Road bridge before reaching the site of Malvern Road station which has some platform edging still in place and then under Queens Road bridge where official path ends and the B&CDR trackbed shortly meets the Midland main line at what was Lansdown Junction, just south of Cheltenham Lansdown station.

The former B&CDR now veers off to the left of the main line at the start of its 90 degree curve, just north of the old signal box which is still in situ. and makes its way through Dean Close school land after which we rejoin it as it passes through Hatherley. Just beyond the site of the long dismantled Hatherley Road bridge, the line courses through what is now Browning Mews and Alma Close before reaching the site of Alma Road bridge, now also long gone.

Having passed the old Alma Road bridge site, we follow the course of the trackbed along what is now Warren Close to the site of where Warden Hill Road bridge once stood, carrying trains across Warden Hill Road and now passing from the area of Hatherley and into Warden Hill.

Beyond this, the trackbed enters land that is now occupied by Bournside school and we rejoin the line a little further on via a footpath at the site of where Bournside farm bridge used to carry a track over the line. Even in built up areas such as this, the remains of lineside fencing and posts are still in evidence as a giveaway as to what used to be here. Carrying on, we walk the trackbed as far as possible until houses are reached that have been built on

(Above) Kingham to Cheltenham train passing Lansdown Junction 1962 (E. Wilmshurst) (Below) The same trackbed leading to Cheltenham St. James in 2020 (Peter Towey) (Above) Cheltenham to Andover train passing Shurdington Fields, Bournside 1925 (H. G. W. Household) (Below) 2020 (Peter Towey)

the line just west of where the Shurdington Road bridge stood, carrying the A46 trunk road overhead the B&CDR.

We rejoin the line at the former Moorend (foot) Crossing where we are granted a glimpse of the remains of the crossing gates and posts still in place before we make our way through a modern estate road to Moorend Park Road bridge, still very much in use today.

Leckhampton to Charlton Kings

Now in Leckhampton, we follow Eyon Close along the course of the old trackbed until we reach the site of where the now demolished Moorend Cresent bridge and make our way past the developed area to much used Leckhampton Road bridge and the site of Leckhampton Road station.

Just beyond this there is a 3 arched bridge that originally led to Naunton farm and we can carry on along the trackbed which is now a nature reserve as far as Pilley bridge and beyond this to a footbridge over the B&CDR which is unused, though still in situ today.

The trackbed now enters land belonging to the Old Patesians club and we continue to Sandy Lane bridge which is part filled in though still carries road traffic overhead.

We are now in Charlton Kings and the line here is not walkable as it continues along gardens that have been extended across the old trackbed as far as the site of Charlton Kings station, though there is a foot crossing leading to the adjoining golf course where a footbridge once stood.

Just beyond the station is Cirencester Road bridge and another nature reserve which allows us to walk the line as far as Little Herberts Road bridge which is still in use by traffic today.

Beyond this, the trackbed is once again reclaimed by private gardens in Charlton Kings until we reach a foot crossing of the line and then the site of Ashgrove Farm bridge which is now demolished, with only the track remaining.

Charlton Kings to Andoversford

From here we continue to Coxhorne Farm bridge which is in very good condition today and then along an embankment to Whitehorn Farm bridge until we reach Capel Lane road bridge, which is filled in though it still takes traffic.

It is then a short distance along a now filled in cutting before we reach an un-named farm track bridge adjacent to Dowdeswell reservoir, which is in very good condition. With good views of the reservoir at this point, we continue along an embankment until we reach a bridge that carried a lane to the former Rossley Manor, with just the abutments remaining.

The embankment continues from here until we arrive at the site of the former 12 arch Dowdeswell viaduct that was sadly demolished in 1967 and on to Sandywell Park tunnel at 384 yards long and Sandywell Park 3 arched bridge.

Continuing east we reach the site of Andoversford station where a short road of modern houses is now situated, though the ‘Great Western pines’ still stand tall and proud.

The girder bridge that once crossed the A40 trunk road was removed when the area was redeveloped between 1969 and 1971, so we continue as far as possible on the embankment beyond the station

(Above) Sandywell Park Tunnel eastern portal 1959 (R. Dagley-Morris) (Below) in 2020 (Peter Towey) (Above) Gypsy Lane bridge (undated J. H. Russell) (Below) in 2020 (Peter Towey)

(Left) On Hampen Bank approaching Notgrove. Crows Castle bridge in background. July 24th 1961 (Ben Ashworth) (Below)Crows Castle bridge in 2020 (Peter Towey)

until we meet the re-aligned A40 having passed the site of another now demolished farm track bridge.

Andoversford to Notgrove

The B&CDR and MSWJR diverged at this point with the B&CDR breaking off to the left and now heading steadily north east, deeper into the Cotswolds as we continue on the trackbed of what was now a single line towards the next station stop of Notgrove along a multitude of embankments and cuttings, some of these very deep.

From here to Notgrove we pass 14 bridges, 2 of these dismantled with only abutments now remaining, 4 of which are un-named, with the named bridges being Gypsy Lane, Syreford Road, Hampen Hill, Hampen, Salt Way, Salperton, Littlewell and Crows Castle.

We now reach the remote site of Notgrove station (now a caravan park), which at 750 feet above sea level, was the highest station on the entire GWR station in England. A tall, 3 arched bridge spanned the now in-filled, deep cutting just beyond the station and is believed to still be buried in situ.with the A436 passing overhead.

Notgrove to Bourton-on-the-Water

We carry on north east from Notgrove, descending gradually from the lines’ 784 foot summit towards Bourton-on-the-Water along one of the remotest sections of the B&CDR, once again coursing along numerous steep embankments and deep cuttings, some of which are heavily overgrown and strewn with brambles and nettles, other stretches providing easier walking where the trackbed has been maintained.

Between Notgrove and Bourton, incredibly we pass under and over another 22 bridges, with 4 of these now demolished, 1 filled-in, 1 with only

(Above) 2-6-0 43XX class no.6343 with Great Western stock running down the incline into Bourton station over farm track bridge east of Lower Harford bridge (J.H. Russell) (Left) The farm track bridge in 2020 – Peter Towey)

abutments remaining and 16 fully in tact and standing. Those with known names are Aylworth Road, Roundhill Farm, Lower Harford and Aston Farm.

Having crossed the Fosse Way once again and the River Windrush, we reach Bourton-on-theWater by way of an embankment where the former trackbed now passes through a school after which we re-join it by the now demolished Station Road bridge and the site of Bourton-on-the-Water station which is marked by a detailed information plaque.

Here the B&CDR trackbed courses through an industrial estate after which we rejoin it heading further north east towards the next station, Stowon-the-Wold. The going is much more level here, the majority of embankments and deep cuttings now behind us.

Bourton-on-the-Water to Stow-on-the-Wold

Between here and Stow station we pass over two more rivers which are tributaries of the slightly larger Windrush, the Eye and the Dikler, which is crossed by a low lying bridge. We then pass under Lower Slaughter bridge and pass over another tributary which is crossed via a low bridge constructed with Barlow rail.

Stow-on-the-Wold station is reached, the original building still standing and having been extended, in use now as a private residence with the original weighbridge building still in place inside its grounds.

Just beyond Stow station, the B&CDR continued north east in a deep cutting, passing under the now removed A424 girder bridge, after which we re-join the trackbed and shortly reach the most northerly point on the line before bearing east and then south east towards our destination of Kingham.

We are now travelling along much more level ground here in the north Cotswolds and pass the site of a mainly demolished bridge near Maugersbury, with only the abutments remaining before reaching an old B&CDR gradient marker that is still in place and passing under the substantial Oddington bridge.

Two further small brick built bridges are crossed shortly afterwards, carrying the railway over tributaries of the River Evenlode as we now head in a south easterly direction and pass over Bledington Grounds crossing and Heath Lane crossing.

We now make our final approach towards Kingham station and reach the point at which the Kingham avoiding line branched off to the left and we pass over a brick and iron built bridge that spans the River Evenlode. To our left is a low-lying double arched bridge carrying the loop line over the same