NLR - Brixworth Station

Brixworth Station

The coming of the railways, none more so than the branch lines, broke down the deep isolation which has hitherto been a fact of life of the countryside and for many provided a working life not in agriculture. Perhaps the earliest visible sign of lessening isolation would have been the use of trains by the Royal Mail and the village postmaster would have often been at the station. As time went by the newspapers of Fleet Street enlarged their circulation into the country side, leading to the beginnings of a National Press!

From the beginnings the railways operated a thriving "parcels" service distinct from "goods" or "passengers" (customers now, please!). Department stores in the larger cities were quick to exploit this service and very willing to despatch their wares at nominal carriage charges to country customers. City sophistication brought to the countryside. With the relative cheapness of the parcels service there came a realisation that a wider variety of choice of everyday and discretionary goods to communities that hitherto had been self-supporting made life more pleasurable and yesterdays exotica turned into today's necessity. Expansion was the order of the day and home delivery the ultimate.

Local shopkeepers here in Brixworth or elsewhere would have have depended upon the trains for their daily or weekly supplies. The trip over the hill and down the other side in all weathers would have just been part of the job. No extensive competition to this pattern emerged until briefly, in the 'thirties, and then again in the 'fifties as more vehicles came on the roads.

Trains means travel. Many trains means mass travel. In spite of much continuing poverty at the turn of the the nineteenth century, more and more people could afford to travel somewhere and they did. By the outbreak of the First World War Brixworth had a passenger service of eight trains in each direction daily, plus two through expresses. However still no passenger service on Sundays. This was a time table that would compare well with many a branch line close to London.

But nothing is forever. In the economic devastation following the First World War financial chaos engulfed so many railway companies that by 1923 Parliament had been forced to act, creating the "Big Four" grouping, and so the line through Brixworth came under the control of the London, Midland & Scottish railway.

The post-grouping companies stumbled through the Great Depression with finances on a knife-edge. As things began to look better in the late 'thirties attempts were made to bring more passengers to the trains by running more excursions and holiday specials. By taking a trains to Northampton it was possible to get through coaching to Brighton, Eastbourne or Hastings (daily) or Skegness (Saturdays only), but this was only in the last full year before the outbreak of the Second World War.

After the Second World War came the creation of British Railways, later British Rail in 1948. The war had snuffed out what small economic recovery had been achieved by the Big Four grouping. Again the finances of all the railways were in a parlous state and nationalisation was considered by Parliament as the only realistic option. As the 'forties gave way to the 'fifties and then 'sixties, increasingly fierce competition from the motor car and lorry plus, changing public attitudes affected all the system and retrenchment became inevitable. So did Dr. Beeching!

The line at Brixworth was a long time in coming and a long time going. Brixworth ceased served passengers in 1960, goods in 1964 and the line was closed except as a through route. In 1969 a sleeper service from Euston into Scotland used the line with day-time return, but it too was eventually withdrawn. Some goods traffic and then occasional excursions ran the rails until official closure on 15 August 1981.

The track remained in place for a while and was then lifted. The station house has long since been demolished but the big shed in the yard stayed on only to finally disappear in 1994. Two seats from the platforms were brought to the village, one is outside the Village Hall, the other by the allotments at the church. Ownership of the the railway lands is now in the hands of the Northamptonshire County Council.

You may also find the website of the Brixworth Historical society interesting, it can be found at www.brixworthhistory.org

There is also a very good village web site at www.brixworth.org.uk.

Last Amended: 27-Dec-2007