Spetisbury station history
1854 : The Dorset Central Railway was formed, one of the many independent companies making up Britain’s railway network at that time.
29th July 1856 : An Act of Incorporation authorised the construction of a 10 mile single track railway linking the London & South Western Railway station at Wimborne (with onward connections to Broadstone and Poole) with Blandford. There were to be intermediate stations at Sturminster Marshall and Spetisbury. The contract to build the line, costing around £128,000, was awarded to Charles Waring of London.
13th November 1856 : The first sod of earth was cut in a ceremony at Blandford St Mary by Frances, Lady Smith of the Down House. The Dorset Central Railway engineer Charles Gregory presented Lady Smith with a ceremonial spade with which she dug a loosened turf and dropped it in the ornamental mahogany wheelbarrow, presented by Charles Waring, after which everyone moved to the Blandford Assembly Rooms for a grand lunch. The expenses of the day amounted to £224 13s 2d, including £71 for wine – clearly everyone enjoyed themselves a great deal! The ceremonial spade and ornamental mahogany wheelbarrow survive today (see photo below).
Henry Danby Seymour, MP for Poole and chairman of the Dorset Central Railway addressed Lady Smith as follows: “Lady Smith, allow me to present you with a glass of wine in which to drink success to the Dorset Central Railway. You have this day performed an important duty in turning the first sod of this great undertaking, which we hope through the blessing of God will be fraught with benefit both to agriculture and commerce, by connecting the Bristol and English Channels.” He also spoke of bringing clay to the new potteries in Poole and increased travel by passenger steamer to Cherbourg (and hence by rail to Paris) made possible via the railway line to Poole.
3rd November 1857 : It was reported in the press “The navvies employed on the first section of the Dorset Central Railway, extending from Wimborne to Blandford, on making a deep cutting in Castle-hill, on one side of the road leading through the village of Spettisbury, disinterred on Monday, the 19th ult., a large quantity of human bones, among which were as many as 70 skulls. The whole of the bones were detached, and when found presented a crushed and broken appearance. In one of the skulls was discovered a spear head firmly fixed, the shaft having been evidently broken off before the body was interred; various weapon of war, such as swords, daggers, spear heads, with ornamental buckles and other fastenings for the dress, and a brass boiler-shaped vessel, evidently used for culinary purposes, exhibiting superior workmanship, were found with the human remains. The probability is that the disturbed burial place was a large grave, in which the bodies of the slain were hurriedly and promiscuously deposited with the fragments of the weapons of war they had used in the fight. No doubt can be entertained but that the spot where the remains were discovered formed part, 1,600 or 1,700 years since, of a Roman encampment, surrounded by earthen outworks, and was probably occupied at the time the Romans advanced from the western coast into the heart of the country. The weapons of war and other ancient curiosities found have been compared with those of known Roman character, and correspond in every essential particular. The whole of the remains have been carefully preserved by Mr. Davis, the contractor of the railway, who appears to feel much gratification in exhibiting them to those who are curious to examine them”.
September 1860 : The new line was finally completed, there having been delays caused by problems at Merley, near Wimborne, where the earthworks became waterlogged in heavy rain.
October 1860 : The original opening date of the railway was advertised as Monday 1st October, however the Southern Times reported “A little delay has been occasioned in the opening of the first section of this railway from Wimborne to Blandford, in consequence of the Government Inspector required a large sized turntable to be laid down at the Wimborne end of the line.” Following an inspection by the Board of Trade, the new railway was proclaimed ready to be opened. There were two intermediate stations at Sturminster Marshall and Spetisbury. At first the railway terminated at a temporary station at Blandford St Mary due to delays in bridging the River Stour into Blandford itself. Although temporary, the timber built station was provided with a booking office, goods shed and engine shed, as well as a run-round loop and turntable. According to the Sherborne Journal, the station was “unpretentious, and unsuitable for anything but the brief use which all Blandford residents must fervently wish”.
31st October 1860 : At noon a special train double-headed by two London & South Western Railway locomotives left the original Poole station, located in Lower Hamworthy. At Wimborne the train reversed and awaited the arrival of a train from London (Waterloo) conveying L&SWR officials before departing at 12.55, the first passenger train to traverse the Dorset Central Railway from Wimborne to Blandford St Mary. The lead locomotive was 2-4-0 Minerva followed by 2-2-2 Sussex class engine Mars, both well tank locomotives designed by Joseph Hamilton Beattie and carrying the Indian Lake livery of the L&SWR. The three wooden four-wheeled carriages were also designed by Beattie, who was amongst the dignitaries on board that first train. The artwork below of this train at Blandford St Mary was produced by Felicity Baker.
The event was reported in the Western Flying Post “On Wednesday last the inhabitants of Blandford and its vicinity celebrated the opening of the first section of the Dorset Central Railway line between Blandford and Wimborne. The day proving exceedingly fine the fondest anticipations were realised. The bells at 10 o’clock in the morning rung a merry peal, and continued at intervals the whole of the day. At 12 o’clock the majority of the tradesmen closed their shops until four in the afternoon. A procession was formed in the market place at noon which consisted of the Rifle Band, the 8th Dorchester Rifles, the Sergeant at Mace, the Worshipful the Mayor and the Corporation of the town; then followed many of the inhabitants, Mr. Perry’s Grammar School, the National and Infant Schools and the British School. The procession marched to Blandford St Mary to welcome the arrival of the first train into the town. The embankments on either side of the line for several hundred yards beyond the station were completely lined with spectators who were anxiously looking for the train. The number present was estimated at not less than 2,500. During the half hour which elapsed previous to the entrance of the train, the children of the different schools were supplied with a bun each, and no doubt they enjoyed themselves far more than those who had nothing to occupy their attention during the half hour. At last the long looked for engine appeared in sight, covered with mottoes, such as “Success to the Dorset Central Railway,” which was the signal for a loud cheer, which rent the air. The Directors were received by the Mayor and Corporation with greetings of pleasure and the procession proceeded to the town. At the luncheon several excellent speeches were made to a crowded audience. A ball was given at the Corn Exchange in the evening, commencing at 9 o’clock. Mr R. Eyers’s band was in attendance. The hall was filled, and dancing continued until four in the morning.”
1st November 1860 : The line finally opened to passengers and goods traffic, worked and staffed by the L&SWR under a five year agreement. The 2-2-2 Sussex class well tank Mars worked the line for the first three years. There were up to five trains in each direction daily, the journey taking around 35 minutes each way.
Spetisbury station originally consisted of a single platform on the ‘down’ side of the line with a timber-built waiting room and separate booking office. It is not known what, if any, signals were provided at first but early disc & crossbar signals appeared by the late 1870s, worked by levers on the platform. Facilities were basic with no electricity or gas, and it is thought that water was delivered in churns. The paraffin for the station lamps was stored in a separate brick hut. Access for passengers and carts was up a track from the High Street. A milk dock allowed milk churns to be unloaded onto the platform for dispatch by train. The road bridge adjacent to the station, like others on the DCR, was built to accommodate two sets of rails to allow for future doubling of the single track railway.
So how did Spetisbury station become part of the famous Somerset & Dorset line? Well, from the outset the Dorset Central Railway had visions of connecting with the Somerset Central Railway, another small independent line which ran from Burnham-on-Sea to Glastonbury, to create a through route from the Bristol Channel to the south coast. On 1st September 1862 the DCR amalgamated with the SCR, the new company becoming known as the Somerset & Dorset Railway. The two extended lines met near Cole in Somerset and the railway between Poole and Burnham-on-Sea was officially opened on 31st August 1863. The temporary terminus at Blandford St Mary was closed and later removed following the provision of a new station more conveniently situated in the town centre. Sturminster Marshall was renamed Bailey Gate to avoid confusion with the new station at Sturminster Newton. To further increase traffic an extension was built northwards from Evercreech Junction to Bath, this opening on 20th July 1874. The huge cost of building this extension over the Mendip Hills resulted in the Somerset & Dorset Railway being leased jointly to the Midland Railway and London & South Western Railway from 1st November 1875, to become the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. As this map shows, the S&DJR was now an important railway linking the south coast and Bath with connections to the Midlands and further north.
11th July 1882 : It was recommended that the decision to provide a station master’s house at Spetisbury be postponed. In 1885 this matter was again postponed.
26th June 1883 : It was recommended that the suggestion to provide a flight of steps from the approach road to Spetisbury station be postponed. The following year this matter was again postponed. Steps were eventually provided around 1901.
4th November 1886 : The Electric Train Tablet method of single line operation was introduced by the S&DJR between Blandford and Bailey Gate. After this date the disc & crossbar signals at Spetisbury were used only for ‘request stop’ purposes.
1888 : Approval was given to extend the platform at Spetisbury and construct a brick-built ladies’ waiting room adjacent to the original timber buildings at a cost of £94.
1st February 1889 : The S&DJR working train timetable relating to Spetisbury stated “The normal position of the Signals…. must be at the “Off” position, except when required to be used to stop a Train which is marked to call by Signal only, or to protect any impediment or obstruction which may be on the Line, in accordance with Rule 157 of the Committee’s Book of Rules and Regulations. In accordance with this Rule, when a Train has stopped at the Station, the Signals in both directions must be placed at “Danger”, and remain so until the Train has again started, and has passed out of sight.”
1897 : Inhabitants of nearby Charlton Marshall petitioned the S&DJR to rebuild Spetisbury station at another location more convenient to both villages and with easier access. The estimated cost was £2,000 plus £670 for a goods siding. This plan was not approved, and the residents of Charlton Marshall had to wait until 1928 before they got their own station.
1899 : Work began to widen the trackbed between Bailey Gate and Blandford for a second set of rails, at an estimated cost of £35,000. The Parish Council again petitioned for the station to be moved to a more convenient location to allow for a goods siding, but this was again refused.
16th April 1901 : Spetisbury’s remaining disc and crossbar signal, one of the last on the entire Somerset & Dorset line, was removed following the introduction of newer semaphore signalling.
29th April 1901 : The new double track line and signalling at Spetisbury came into use.
Spetisbury station was rebuilt for double track operation. The original ‘down’ platform was again lengthened and a new ‘up’ platform 300′ long was added with a substantial brick-built booking office and waiting rooms. A flight of steps gave access to the new platform from the lane below, and a foot crossing was provided to allow passengers to cross from one platform to the other. There were no goods sidings, however milk and watercress were dispatched daily by train. Crossover points between the ‘up’ and ‘down’ lines were also provided, worked from a new signal box built. The signal box was a S&DJR Type 2 design and cost £450 to install. It had a nine-lever frame controlling the signals as well as the crossover points – visit the signal box webpage for more detailed information. The S&DJR working train timetable stated “The Signals at Spetisbury will be worked only for Trains stopping at the Station, except on special occasions, when it will be opened as a Block Section, of which due notice will be given, as the ordinary Block Section will be as between Blandford and Bailey Gate. The Cross-over Road must not be used except whilst the Station is open as a Block Post.”
23rd January 1918 : It was recommended that the crossover points at Spetisbury be removed.
1922 : The Redhead Commission reported on cost-cutting measures throughout the S&DJR system. It was recommended that the Spetisbury station master Charles Moors be made redundant, saving £200 a year. His duties were undertaken by the Blandford station master.
1st January 1923 : Britain’s railway were grouped into ‘The Big Four’ companies. The S&DJR fell into the hands of the Southern Railway and London Midland & Scottish Railway.
17th July 1933 : S&DJR trains ceased to run to Wimborne and instead ran direct to Broadstone and onto Poole and Bournemouth.
13th August 1934 : Spetisbury was downgraded to an unstaffed halt. Train guards were issued with the following instruction:
1st January 1948 : The railways were nationalised. Spetisbury now came under the control of the Southern Region of British Railways.
10th August 1952 : Spetisbury signal box was permanently closed it having been noted that “The condition of the locking-frame and much of the signalling apparatus at Spetisbury is worn out. Also the box structure is in need of considerable renewal. It has not been found necessary to open the box for a number of years and there is no apparent reason to anticipate such a course being necessary in the foreseeable future. In the circumstances it is recommended….. the box to be abolished.” This closure saved around £28 a year in maintenance costs.
17th September 1956 : Spetisbury Halt closed. As this was a Monday, and no Sunday services ran on the line, the last trains called on the Saturday. On that day ten trains were booked to call at Spetisbury – four down’ and six ‘up’ trains. However, some trains continued to pick up and set down passengers unofficially after that.
1958/1959 : The remaining station buildings at Spetisbury were demolished.
6th March 1966 : The entire Somerset & Dorset line closed to passengers, and track lifting and demolition commenced the following year. However, the line from Broadstone to Blandford remained open for goods traffic including coal, fertiliser and hops for the Hall & Woodhouse brewery at Blandford.
November 1967 : The ‘up’ line from Blandford to a point south of Spetisbury was lifted, leaving only a single track.
3rd November 1968 : ‘The Hampshireman’ enthusiasts railtour became the last passenger train to pass through Spetisbury.
6th January 1969 : The Broadstone to Blandford section closed to all traffic.
December 1969 : Track lifting began at Blandford.
April 1970 : The remaining track through Spetisbury was taken up. Recovered materials were loaded by a mobile crane into wagons hauled mostly by class 33 diesel locomotives. After nearly 110 years as a railway, nature began to reclaim the trackbed.
1986 : The Railway Inn at Spetisbury closed. This was a favourite watering hole for engine drivers, porters and guards working on the S&D line. The pub sign featured two famous locomotives – Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ on one side and ‘King George V’ on the other.
1990s : Dorset County Council established a path along the trackbed for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. Today this forms part of the North Dorset Trailway.
May 2012 : The Spetisbury Station Project began clearing the station site.
Want to know more? Read about the history of the Somerset & Dorset line, and visit the station archive for a look back at historical images and documents relating to Spetisbury station, as well as railway recollections from staff and local residents. Thanks to Chris Osment for sharing his signalling knowledge and supplying details from his website.
Railway staff
In its heyday there were a station master and three porters at Spetisbury. One of the first station masters was Thomas Parmiter, who was originally from a local farming family before moving to Alton in Hampshire by 1861 to work as a railway ticket inspector. Following a promotion in 1881 he moved back nearer to home and became station master at Spetisbury. Thomas Parmiter died in 1903 and was followed by Robert Cook, who was station master until 1915, having before that been a porter at Blandford. Next came Charles Moors, who was born in Sturminster Newton and on the 1911 Census was shown as a railway clerk on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. He became the last station master at Spetisbury in 1921, the position being made redundant the following year. He then moved to become station master at another S&D location, Midford, from 1926 to 1934. Harry Roberts was Porter in Charge from 1926 to 1934, when Spetisbury was downgraded to an unstaffed halt. The cleaning and lighting of the platform oil lamps during the winter months was undertaken by Blandford station’s junior porter. This involved cycling to Charlton Marshall Halt and Spetisbury with a can of paraffin and cleaning materials in the front basket. In the late 1940s this was undertaken by Roy Miles, who later became a guard based at Templecombe station. Railway gangers, who lived in the village, were each responsible for a length of track which they had to walk daily. They checked that the track gauge was correct, also the gaps between the rails to allow for expansion in hot weather. One ganger was Peter Charles Christopher, who worked the line around Spetisbury and Charlton Marshall into the 1950s. In 1901 quite a few railway workers lived in the village, including one ganger, four platelayers and four navvies, no doubt involved in the work to double the track.
Incidents and accidents
16th October 1864 : Mr George Baker, employed as a gate keeper on the Somerset & Dorset Railway, was charged with assaulting another lad named Henry Lambert who worked at Spetisbury station. He was fined 1 shilling with 8 pence costs.
28th October 1876 : It was reported in the Blandford Express “On Tuesday afternoon a somewhat serious accident occurred to the train from Bath, which is due to leave Blandford at 2.36pm. The axle and other parts of the iron-work of the van next the engine broke, causing two wheels to leave the metals near Charlton Barrow. Fortunately, the guard and engine-driver both saw the danger, and the train was brought to a standstill on the embankment near the Endowed School in this village without doing any further damage than tearing up the permanent way for about 100 yards. The engine did not leave the rails, neither did any of the carriages. The passengers were somewhat shaken, but did not receive any further injury. The engine was as soon as possible detached from the van, and proceeded to the station, where a telegram was despatched to Blandford for assistance. A gang of men was soon on the spot, fires were lighted by the side of the line, and the line was clear for traffic shortly after nine o’clock. The passengers by the disabled train were conveyed by a relief train to Wimborne at about six o’clock”.
1878 : A goods train became divided into two parts after a coupling broke near Spetisbury. The first half of the train had passed through the station when the rear half arrived at the platform, much to the surprise of the station staff!
27th May 1878 : Mr John Cox, a 78 year old resident of the village, was fatally injured by the 10.20 train from Blandford whilst attempting to cross the railway near Spetisbury.
1883 : A coupling on a passenger train broke and the driver carried on to Blandford before realising half the carriages were still at Spetisbury!
9th July 1885 : A goods guard, working a return excursion train from Portsmouth, sustained an injury through being knocked down at Spetisbury by the open door of his guard’s van.
7th December 1893 : Mr A. Martin was fined 15 shillings (75p) for using obscene and abusive language at Spetisbury.
1905 : A female passenger was indecently assaulted by a man who got into her carriage at Blandford. The lady jumped out of the moving train half a mile from Spetisbury, and walked to the station to report the incident. The station master telegraphed ahead to Wimborne station, where the man was arrested. He was later sentenced to two years’ hard labour.
Spetisbury station website 