Heighington Station

In this month's Tales from the Rails …

Experience the birth and transformation of the world's earliest railway station

This month’s podcast is all about the S&DR’s station at Heighington on Aycliffe Lane, located half way between Shildon and Darlington.

In 1826 the railway company commissioned a number of important buildings including a ‘cottage’ at Heighington. This cottage had many of the functions of a railway station at a time when such a thing had not yet been invented. As such it was recently upgraded to being a grade II* listed building and is now known as the world’s earliest railway station.

We also look into the life of John Falcus Carter who was appointed as a mason and clerk of works to the S&DR on numerous occasions. One of his many jobs was to design and oversee the works at Heighington Station.

As usual we will cover the news of the last month and forthcoming events as we steam ahead to 2025.

Thank you once more to Dave Reynolds for composing our theme tune. And thanks also to Lee Morris once again this month. The Darlington based actor from Tall Tales Mysteries features in this podcast as Robert Metcalf.

Links

Links in this Episode: 

Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway

Save Heighington Station

Donate to the Save Heighington Station campaign

S&DR Events Calendar

S&DR Community Fund

Buy at the S&DR Shop

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music.

(00:24):
Hello and welcome to our third Tales from the Rails, our monthly podcast on
the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the railway that got the world on track.
My name is Caroline Hardy.
And my name is Archie Mackay. I'm an archaeologist and the editor and trustee
for the charity, the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
And I'm Managing Editor of Southwestern News, a small independent publisher

(00:48):
of four community newspapers, including the Sheldon and District Town Crier,
produced right here in the cradle of the railways.
As usual, we're also joined by
Cleo the dog, who doesn't make much of a contribution to these podcasts.
But hopefully, going to make much more of a splash is Niall Hammond,
Chair of the Friends of the S&DR.

(01:09):
Hello, Niall. Hello, Caroline and Archie. I should mention that this week we're
also joined by Bonnie, the South Western News Office Dog, or News Hound, as I prefer to call her.
It's her first time joining us in these podcasts, so it'll be interesting to
see whether she and Cleo do decide to get involved this week.
Hello, Bonnie. So now, how did you get roped into it?

(01:32):
Sorry, I meant, how did you come to have this privileged and honoured position
as chair of the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway?
Well, it's a long journey, really.
And we could probably fill a whole podcast on that one. But as an 11-year-old
boy, I attended the 1975 celebrations.
And it's always stuck in my mind that it's just a fantastic,
internationally important place.
So when about 10 years ago, a group of people got together to see if they could

(01:55):
get people working together for the 2025 celebrations, I was keen to participate.
And it all just sort of grew a bit out of control from there, really.
Right. Okay. So in the interest of transparency, although I'm not entirely sure
that's the right word, I should also say that Niall's actually my husband as
well, which is his most honoured position, obviously.
Anyway, well, this week on Tales from the Rails. We're going to focus on the

(02:18):
world's earliest railway station, which is Hyington Station at Aycliffe Lane
and the Friends of the S&DR's campaign to rescue it.
As usual, we'll also, in stars of the S&DR, find out much more about the pioneering
people who worked on the railway.
And this month will be all about John Falcus Carter, who designed and oversaw
the construction of many S&DR buildings, including Hignton Station.

(02:42):
We'll also be letting you know about events that are coming down the line.
So fix your diaries, make a cup of tea, put your feet up.
And enjoy the ride on the railway that got the world on track.
Tales from the Rails. This podcast is brought to you by the Friends of the Stockton
and Darlington Railway, a registered charity set up to safeguard and promote

(03:03):
the heritage of the railway that got the world on track.
You can join us by visiting our website at www.sdr1825.org.uk.
So just before we start, I have a favour to ask. However you are listening to
this, somewhere on the screen there will be a subscribe button.

(03:24):
Please, could you press that? It really helps us and in return we promise to
keep improving these podcasts.
Music.
So, Niall, where is Hyington Station? Well, it's not in Hyington.

(03:45):
That would be a bit too easy. In its life, it's also been called Aycliffe Lane
Station, but it wasn't an Aycliffe village either.
So when built, it was roughly halfway between the two villages of Aycliffe and
Hignton, not far from what was then the Great North Road, what today we think of as the A1.
And the proximity to that is really important.
So it's located at a level crossing where the Stockton and Darlington Railway crosses Aycliffe Lane.

(04:07):
And if you want to drive to find it, the postcode is DL56QG.
Or why not just catch a train there from Darlington or Shildon?
Now, for those listeners from further afield, I'm just going to point out that
there is another Hyington in Lincolnshire.
Our Hyington is in County Durham.
This is a significant spot before the station was built.

(04:28):
It was where Active, later known as Locomotion No.
1, was put on the line. The Superior Locomotive Travelling Engine was loaded
onto a road dray provided by the Pickersgill Company to convey it from Roberts,
Stevenson & Co in Newcastle, where it had been built, to the Stockton & Downton
Railway on Thursday evening 15th September 1825.
It departed behind an eight-strong team of Pickersgill's horses on Friday morning

(04:50):
16th, arriving at Aycliffe Lane on the 18th.
Incidentally, at our history day in Hyington recently, we met a number of descendants
of the Pickersgill family.
It's amazing that they're still in the area and haven't moved themselves further afield.
On the 18th September, the locomotive arrived at this very spot.
It had cost the railway company £600 and was delivered much later than anticipated.

(05:15):
The locomotive was named Active, but would later be known as Number One Engine
or Locomotion Number One.
A survival was witnessed by many people who turned out to see to Iron Hoss,
many of whom assisted with the removal of the locomotive from the dray onto the track.
They included two brothers, Robert and James Robinson, who recalled their experience

(05:36):
50 years later in the Northern Echo.
The crowd also included three other lads aged about 13, including one Crawford Marley.
When the engine had been placed on the rails, the lads were asked by George
Stevenson's elder brother, James, known as Jem, who was supervising the operation,
to help fill the boiler with water.
They ran to a nearby farmhouse to borrow some buckets and filled the boiler

(05:59):
with water from a nearby spring.
Once steam had been raised, Crawford Marley and his two unnamed friends,
who had helped with the watering, were given a ride on the locomotive,
the railway's first passengers.
However, before it could get going, the boiler had to be lit.
Some years later, the endeavours to light the fire were recalled by a labourer,

(06:19):
Robert Metcalf, who was employed on the line.
Number one came to Houghton Lane by road. We had to get her on the way.
When we got her on the way, we pumped water into her and sent John Taylor for
a lantern and candle to Akecliffe.
When we'd done that, I thought I'd have me pipe. It was a very warm day,
though, being back end of the year.
I took me pipe glass and lit me pipe. I thought to myself, I'd try to put fire to Jimmy Ockham.

(06:45):
It blazed away well. The fire gone rapidly. Lantern and candle was near used
to no one, so fire was put to her online by the pour of the sun.
Eight wagons was all she could trail. Thank you so much to Lee Morris for getting
through that mouthful of 19th century South West Durham.
As we know, the railway officially opened on the 27th of September 1825,

(07:07):
and so the first part of what we think of today as our modern railway network was underway. way.
Next, the railway company gave some thought to improving the service at this level crossing.
Incidentally, did you know that there was a specification for level crossings
agreed in the 1821 Act of Parliament for the S&DR?
It said the ledge or flange of such railways or tram roads for the purpose of

(07:28):
guiding the wheels of the carriages shall not exceed three inches in height
above the level of such road.
So, a level crossing is a great place for road and rail to interact.
In October 1825, the S&DR's Management Committee resolved that a siding for
the accommodation of the public in the delivery of coals be made at Aycliffe Lane.

(07:50):
They also made the same instruction for fighting cocks and early nuke depots.
This was a place where the public could buy coal delivered by rail.
A month later, lime was also being delivered here, probably mostly used by farmers
to improve their soil, but also as a building material.
By early 1827, stone was being delivered here too, presumably also for building.

(08:12):
Meanwhile, the public were coming to the level crossing to catch a train or
use the depot, but there was no shelter and no place to obtain refreshments.
It was a bleak place and not somewhere you'd want to hang around.
Even the staff only had temporary cabins at the depot.
The S&DR decided to improve their offer along the line by providing stopping

(08:33):
places next to depots and roads where shelter and refreshments could be obtained.
They commissioned three inns, one at Stockton, one at Darlington and one at Acliffe Lane.
These weren't the first inns on the railway. The company had rented an existing
inn, the Mariner's Tavern, on Stockton's quayside next to their wharves and warehouses.
And that ever-opportunistic chair of the S&DR, Mr Maynall, had one built in

(08:56):
1825 at the end of the Yarm Branch, the new inn, now called the Cleveland Bay. it's still a pub.
In September 1826 the S&DR company approved a plan of a cottage and other conveniences
to be built at Aycliffe Lane.
It let the building contracts on the best terms to Storian Sons and Michael Windale.

(09:20):
The S&DR's architect was their occasional clerk of works and inspector of buildings
John Carter, a master mason by profession from Hyington who became the designer
of many of the company's early buildings and structures.
He designed the building as a two-storey structure, as seen from the railway
track, but the railway company insisted that he reduce it in scale.

(09:41):
Carter pointed out to the railway company that it'd be far cheaper to build
the larger version of the building now instead of increasing in size later,
but his advice was ignored.
It was advertised on the 7th of May 1827 alongside the new Darlington house as follows.
To be let by proposal, that means they're inviting tenders to run the inn and depot.

(10:02):
Two good new-built dwelling houses belonging to the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company.
Number one, situate at the Skirn Bridge, Darlington, immediately opposite the company's depots.
Number two, situate at Aycliffe and Hyington Lane, touching upon the said railway
and adjoining the company's depots there.
The above may be entered on immediately. An application is intended to be made
to the magistrates for licences for the said houses as inns at the next licensing

(10:26):
day, when it's expected they will become places of considerable business.
Seven people submitted bids to run the inn and the depot, but they decided to
appoint Matthew Turnbull and his family to run it, despite not being the cheapest.
But disaster struck. The licence to sell booze was refused.
Who refused the licence to booze? Well, the magistrates did.

(10:48):
And those magistrates often had vested interests in the Turnpike Road network.
So in County Durham, at least, they had it in for the railway.
One of the key magistrates behind the decision was William Price Cumbie,
a heroic commander of the Belepharon, known as the Billy Ruffian ship at Trafalgar,
and resident of Hignton at Trafalgar House.
Hero of the Battle of Trafalgar he may have been, but he was no hero to the railways.

(11:11):
The railway company were livid When
we see a whole bench of magistrates In order
to gratify the private resentments of one individual Or more of their number
Heap injuries upon a community We become sensible that theirs is a power Which
can render even the best designed institutions Mischievous and destructive We
think the system of licensing public houses At present in force in this country

(11:34):
Liable to a perversion of this sort.
So what does it happen to do when it can't sell alcohol?
Well, it can it on with its other functions of running the depot,
providing shelter and non-alcoholic refreshments, while appeals were organised by the S&DR.
Those appeals provided evidence of just how much activity was going on there.

(11:56):
So we learned that the proposed public house would provide a service to users of the freight depots,
but it was an important part of the company's case that its usefulness was somewhere
where coach travellers could shelter and refresh and where unaccompanied parcels
could be safely received and dropped off.
Some of the witnesses indicate that the latter of these was already happening
on an informal basis, when convenient for Matthew Turnbull, the landlord.

(12:19):
So even before the company and Mr Turnbull obtained the licence,
eventually in 1829, the building was functioning as a railway station,
albeit without alcohol.
So let's look at some of the extracts from the appeals which were reported in the local press.
This from the railway company itself. The Aycliffe Lane House immediately adjoins
the railway between Aycliffe and Hignton.

(12:41):
To that spot persons come in the most stormy seasons at all hours of the day
and night to load and unload goods and to await the arrival and departure of
the numerous coaches and carriages which now traverse the railway.
It is indeed the only place for a considerable distance where such individuals
could procure any refreshment. We are at a loss to account for the determined.

(13:15):
So that came from the Durham Chronicle on the 15th of September 1827.
And John Hill was one of many appealing at the appeal for the railway company.
There is a considerable passage of parcels and goods of every description on
the railway for the villages of Aycliffe and Hyneton.
I have taken up parcels myself at that house, and see many more people there for the same purpose.
If there were no such house there, a coach would be under the necessity of taking

(13:38):
the things up to Shildon, which is three miles further.
If a passenger wants to get into the coach, let the weather be ever so stormy,
he should be exposed to it, for there is no place where any could shelter.
This house of Turnbull's would be, in my opinion, a convenience for receiving
parcels and the use of persons wishing to go by the coach.
There is no place near there for people to put parcels.
John Pryorman was another witness.

(13:59):
I often receive parcels by the coach. I consider it would be a benefit to me
and all the country round to have a public house there.
I think a public house would be useful in this particular place on the ground
that we have to lead coal and lime from its immediate vicinity and have no place
to put either carts or horses when we have to wait.

(14:22):
Parcels coming from me are sometimes left at Turnbulls, sometimes down below.
We do not always get them conveniently.
This place is noted for good coals and many people go there on that account.
I have had to wait an hour and a half myself.
The company later put forward their case at another appeal reported in the Newcastle
Courant on the 31st of October 1829.

(14:45):
The situation was particularly favourable and it was a point to which persons
resident in those places must necessarily draw who had parcels to send or receive
and who had to travel by the coaches which passed there to Auckland,
Darlington and Stockton and surely a man was not to be kept standing on the
railway waiting for a coach or to lay his goods perhaps valuable there until

(15:07):
a conveyance came to the spot.
Interestingly, a witness said that as well as being four or five yards from
the railway, there are three or four steps up to the house.
Well, I was looking at some old photographs recently from the 1950s,
and there are actually only two steps up to the front door now,
which makes me think that maybe the cobbled railway platform,
which is meant to be the earliest railway platform in the world,

(15:29):
might actually date after 1829.
And a couple of steps have been buried below the platform. form.
Anyway, the evidence also shone a light on other pioneering aspects of the railway.
Another witness said that the house would have to be kept open all night,
but the character of the landlord would be sufficient protection against disorderly

(15:50):
or profligate practices.
The solicitor for the railway company, Mr Mewburn, said that they were very
strict over the conduct of all their servants on the railway,
employing a policeman to preserve order amongst the workmen,
and inspecting public houses already on the railway to see that they did not
encourage the workmen or farmers, servants, etc.
To tipple away their time and waste their money.
Yeah, perish the thought. So the S&DR was employing railway policemen before

(16:14):
the creation of the Metropolitan Police by Robert Peel.
And that reference to other public houses already on the railway is a reminder
that the tavern at St John's Crossing in Stockton had got its licence straight
away in 1827 and privately owned wayside taverns were being constructed elsewhere
along the line at depots,
but not all of them had the wider functions found at Hyington.

(16:34):
Anyway, the licence was finally obtained in 1829 after appeals being refused three times,
but only after the law was changed to stop magistrates with improper motives
refusing such applications and the building, the depot and its staff could get
on with their jobs and enjoy the refreshing benefits of a beer while doing so.
The idea of a station was soon expanded by the company, on 23rd April 1830,

(16:59):
the management committee ordered that a cottage for the accommodation of passengers
and parcels and the sale of coal, slime, etc.
Be immediately built at Fighting Cox Lane, together with the one intended to be built at Yarm Branch.
So that's quite interesting because here we see the company commissioning what
is in effect railway stations, the one at Fighting Cox being next to a depot.

(17:22):
And at Fighting Cox, the tavern element had already been provided by the private landowner in the area.
Although the building at Hyington, and indeed Fighting Cox, had the functions
of a station, because the railway station hadn't really been invented before,
there was no common vocabulary to describe it.
So for the next few years, the railway company tended to refer to them as cottages.
This was a term they used for all their buildings, regardless of function.

(17:44):
The locals probably just referred to it as Turnbulls. Hackworth,
in writing his notes about it, the death of John Cree in 1828,
referred to it as the watering station.
The watering, of course, was for the engines, not the drivers.
In 1832, it was being called a railway inn. In 1834, it was called the King's
Arms when it was taken over by Matthew Stevenson, who was also a farmer.
It wasn't until January 1840 that the company started routinely using the term railway station.

(18:10):
A committee minute headed Acliffe Lane station authorised the superintendent
of the coaching department, that's the one that dealt with passengers,
to arrange for the gatekeeper at Aycliffe Lane to ticket the passengers.
In fact, the coach return records survive for some of this period and it suggests
that the station was relatively quiet and surprising given its location.
But the most popular destination was Darlington, especially on Mondays,

(18:34):
which was market day, and the second most popular destination was Shildon.
It operated six days a week for passenger traffic.
Earlier references during the appeal process to overnight provision may have
only related to freight, especially when trying to clear bottlenecks.
These happened often due to inclines breaking down or to bad weather at the

(18:55):
port in Stockton, which prevented boats being loaded.
The spot, as well as having a depot and a station, was also a watering spot
for the locomotives, as we've seen.
Once the building opened, it was a watering spot for engine drivers too,
and that led to a spot of conflict.
The landlord was Matthew Turnbull, and he also ran the depot.
His relation, Edward Turnbull, was responsible for helping to get the water into the locomotives.

(19:19):
On 1st of July 1828, a terrible explosion happened, when locomotion number one
was taking in water, killing the driver John Cree on the spot and burning Edward
Turnbull, who was left with lifelong black burn marks on his face.
This explosion resulted in locomotion being set aside in the yard at Shildon
a while, and when finally rebuilt by Timothy Hackworth with many modifications,

(19:40):
the most noticeable being that it now had two chimneys.
In January 1831, the S&DR committee heard that four lines of road, i.e.
Track, were by then necessary at the watering place to keep two lines of road
always open and allow the engines, either empty or loaded, to stand clear of
those wagons while taking in water.

(20:02):
The lime chute and the puller for the water cistern also needed to be set back
from the line. Now, as an aside, if you've listened to our earlier podcast,
you'll have heard us mention Jem Stevenson, Jem being short for James.
This was George Stevenson's older brother, and he was employed by the S&DR as
an engine driver, and he drove locomotion number one on the opening day.
Somehow, via the surviving documentation, he's obtained a bit of a reputation for liking the drink.

(20:27):
But further, on the 30th of January 1829, the S&DR committee recorded that James Stevenson and co.
Should be fined 40 shillings for selling coals at Aycliffe Lane,
the tonnage thereupon never having been accounted for to this company.
So, sounds like he was selling coals on the sly for his own personal benefit.
In April 1835, when the company commissioned the repainting of the S&DR's buildings

(20:51):
between Aycliffe Lane and Fighting Cox, the Aycliffe Lane Inn was specifically
named its front door to be painted grained oak, a little hint of the decorative
scheme we might put in place if we managed to buy and restore the building.
Between 1838 and 9, the building was extended, as John Carter had early predicted
it would need to be, and by the late 1830s or early 1840s, the building stopped

(21:12):
serving alcohol and concentrated instead on other station activities.
The other S&DR taverns which never functioned as stations continued to serve
alcohol as this was largely their sole purpose.
The building was further extended and by the time of the 1851 census,
38-year-old Thomas Wilson was the railway station master and he was recorded
as living with his wife, seven children and mother, that's 10 people.

(21:37):
Alongside them in adjacent railway houses, presumably at extension,
there were two other households, each headed by a railway labourer.
Thomas's son William, later, 1868, took over as stationmaster while Thomas ran the depot.
Now would be a good time to hear from Jill Thompson, whose great-grandfather
Robert Batty worked for the railway.

(21:58):
Right, Jill, tell me about your great-grandfather, Robert Batty. When was he born?
1853. And what happened to him that left him in a bit of a sticky situation?
Well, when he was a young child, he fell on the railway lines and managed to
cut off some of his fingers.
So on one hand, he had a thumb and a little finger.

(22:20):
On the other hand, he had a thumb and a first finger.
That's all he was left with? Yes, that's right.
And because it had happened on the railway, where the railway company that was
in charge at that time educated him.
What did they get him to do as a job after that? They found him a job as a clerk
for children. Oh, brilliant.

(22:41):
And so then what happened? Well, when he was 18, he wanted to join the union
and he was told he couldn't join the union because he belonged to the railway company.
And so he took umbrage at that and didn't think that was a very good idea.
So as soon as he could, he served his money up and left and came to Hyington,
where he bought a pony and truck and he did deliveries.

(23:03):
And I suppose it kind of was a taxi service.
He used to take people to Hyington Station or Chiltern and Darlington,
wherever they wanted to go.
So he collected parcels from the railway and delivered people down there as well.
Brilliant. So he was continuing a tradition that actually started in 1827.
So he settled in Hyington forever, did he?

(23:25):
Yes, he bought two houses in Hyington, number 15 and number 17 Churchview.
And he stabled his horse at the back of the house and the stables were still
there up until 2000, I suppose. Have they been demolished now?
I think they've been converted. I haven't seen what's happened.
I'm dying to ask the people who live now to let me have a look through this.

(23:46):
So how long did he work for doing that job?
36 years. Right, so he retired in 1907.
Retired in 1907, and he was awarded the Imperial Medal from the King.
For his service to the Canadian Missile. Brilliant. That sounds well-deserved.
Thank you, Jill. So I guess that when Robert was little, the railway company

(24:10):
that looked after him might still have been the S&DR, as it didn't amalgamate
with the North Eastern Railway until 1863,
by which time Robert was 10 and was probably already eight fingers down.
But I suspect when he asked to join a union and was told he belonged to the
railway, that would be the North Eastern Railway.

(24:30):
Anyway, back to Hinton Station. Sometime between 1871 and 1881,
a short terrace of five houses called Station Cottages was built by the railway
company, by now the North Eastern Railway Company, about 150 yards south of
the station buildings at the far end of the depot yard.

(24:51):
The building continued to function as a railway station with attached accommodation
for railway staff until the late 1960s.
We've had some lovely photos sent to us by people who lived in these cottages.
Do take a look at our Save Hyington Station Facebook page and enjoy what appears
to be an idyllic childhood.

(25:11):
Talking of childhoods at Hyington, here's a more recent recollection from Jill Thompson once again.
This time it's about her mother, Rosemary Boynton, a typical superwoman juggling
work and young children in the late 1950s.
Jill, tell me about your mum, Rosemary Boynton, because she sort of continued
the tradition of your great-grandfather.

(25:33):
Yes, during the late 50s, so around about that time. I don't know the exact dates.
My mum got offered a job as postwoman in the village.
Someone was poorly and they needed somebody to step in. So for several years,
she was postwoman in the village.
And when we were growing up, she would go and sort her letters first in the
post office and come back home and get us up out of bed, go and do part of a

(25:56):
round, come back and give us our breakfast and get us on the school buffers
and then complete our rounds after that.
She used to go down to school, Akeley, through, it's now called North Skyrow,
but it used to be Baker Light when I was young, go into Hindton Station,
deliver their letters and at the station houses and then the two farms on the

(26:16):
way back up the other road.
And that was her round. But during school holidays, about the time when my elder
sister would be nine, I would be six, my younger sister was three,
we often, when she came to do the trip around the farm, we would go with her.
So my three-year-old sister Dawn used to ride in front of the post bike and

(26:37):
Heather and I followed on our own bikes,
followed all around, went to school, went through Bakerlight,
the Heighten station where we all got a club biscuit, I believe we all used to get.
I love those as I said and we followed up back to Hinton and to finish by about
11 o'clock 12 o'clock on the morning.
That's amazing, isn't it? I mean, juggling three children and work.

(26:59):
And my dad was a long-distance driver, so he wasn't around some of the time. That's astonishing.
So you mentioned earlier a little accident you had at one point.
Oh, yes, I quite. We did this on our school holidays, obviously,
every day, every Sunday.
And I was riding along one morning and I thought, I bet I could do this with
my eyes closed. so very cleverly shook my eyes, went over the top of my bike,

(27:24):
landed in a gravel pit just about.
So I remember being taken to Hinton Station. It was just near Hinton Station
and sat on the counter while somebody came to take me, cleaned my knees and
cleaned my hands ready for me to go home.
I can remember what it's like having the gravel picked out of your knees.
It's quite painful. Well, you used to have a yellow ointment that you used to put on.

(27:45):
I think it was flavoring, I think it was called, something like that.
I think that was probably a two-club biscuit day.
I should think so, yes. Thank you.
By 1970, the building was no longer used by the railway, and it was becoming derelict.
Originally sold off to Sedgefield Borough Council, eventually it opened as a
pub, the Locomotion No. 1, around 1980 with yet another extension.

(28:07):
It closed in the mid-2010s and failed to sell at Orkren in December 2017,
after which its guide price offer was reduced, but it still stands empty today,
day and sadly as with any empty building it's been vandalised.
Trains on the Bishop Auckland branch line from Darlington, part of the original
1825 S&DR, still stop regularly at the unmanned halt next door and so just as

(28:27):
in the early days there is no
shelter, sadly no refreshments and it's once again a bit of a bleak spot.
And this is where the Friends of the S&DR campaign comes in to save Hangington
Station but first let's hear from a couple of our supporters.
Hello Margaret Margaret, would you like to introduce yourself? Thank you, Caroline.
I'm Margaret Fenwick. I'm a member of the Friends of the Stockton and Arlington

(28:50):
Railway, and I live about a mile away from Hignton Station.
I think it deserves serving because it's a charismatic building,
or it will be when we've spent some money on it.
We can use it for a number of things, a heritage centre, a museum,
a cafe, a visitor centre.

(29:11):
The possibilities are endless. My name is Jim Atkinson, Councillor Jim Atkinson.
I'm a county councillor for the Ecliffe East and I'm a town councillor for the
Ecliffe Central. I'm also a
a member of the Friends of the Stockton and Darling Railway.
Originally, I come from Witten Park. I know a fair bit about the history.
And of course, this is at the very beginning of the history,

(29:32):
which is, it's a masterpiece, a masterful piece of heritage and things like that.
So we really do need to hang on to it. And we need to do as much as we possibly
can to hang on to it as well. So we're going to do that.
We're going to try out. We've been at it a long time now because we've been
the Friends 2013 and onwards.
And it's been a long journey. It's been a hard trek.

(29:52):
Right and there's a lot of hard work being done and i've been there
to watch most of the people do tons and tons of
work so it's a great asset and we really do
need to save it what do you think would be a great end use for this building
well i think there's a number of things you could do with it like it could be
a place of education it could be a sort of watering hole where people can stop

(30:14):
off but when we get our visit it'll be somewhere for them to say they're going
to want to come and say it, aren't they?
They'll bring the money and spend a few quid around the doors and things like that.
So, yeah, a great asset. We must hang on to it. We must make it work.
I think it'll make itself work, to be fair.
Yeah, I have to say, Watering Hole gets my vote. Oh, yeah. Some decent beer. Yeah, yeah.

(30:34):
We'll find all the right people to look into that. There'll be lots of people
who know how to do that one. Brilliant. Thanks very much, Jim. That's lovely.
Cleo, why do you think we should save Hyington Station?
She's a dog. Hello, Chris. Chris, would you like to introduce yourself?
Yes, I'm Chris Lloyd. I am Chief Feature Writer at the Northern Echo and I dabble in local history.
And why do you think we should save Hangington Station, Chris?

(30:56):
I think it provides a real connection back to the earliest days,
the very earliest days of the railways, 1825.
And just with a little imagination, you can transport yourself back through
time to the opening day of the railway.
You can see locomotion number one actually passing along there and you can see
the people milling around here. And of course, even before the opening day of

(31:18):
the railway, this is where locomotion number one was put on the tracks somehow.
And there's that fantastic story. You can imagine it being bolted together just over there.
And because John Walker of Stockton had yet to invent the match.
They couldn't get the boiler lit, according to the story.
And so they sent someone back down this road here, back into Aycliffe,

(31:39):
to try and get a lantern of some sort.
But a chap called Robert Metcalf, I think, from Darlington, just happened to
be hanging around smoking his pipe.
And he allegedly used the rays of the sun to catch the local...
Oh, and before the pen was in the lantern. So all of that wonderful history takes place just here.
Okamoshin No. 1 exploded here, didn't it, in 1828, killing its driver quite

(32:02):
terribly and making his pumper look like a dalmatian for the rest of his life. It exploded like water.
So all of that sort of stuff takes place just here. And so this building kind
of represents all of that and means that you can actually touch and feel that history.
So I get excited by just getting people to be kind of hands-on on their history,
and that's what this building represents. It's going to be so embarrassing.

(32:25):
If in 2025 people turned up from around the world and just came to see a site
of complete dereliction, where these world-changing events took place.
So what do you think would make a good use for the building once it's been restored,
assuming you don't want to blow up any more engine drivers?
No, well, the obvious thing to do is to, it can't just kind of stay there with

(32:47):
no use, so it has to wash its face, I believe is the modern terminology for these things.
So it has to operate either as some form
of a holiday home or as a and
there would be people i think who would be interested in railway people
from around the world to be interested in staying in the world's first station
that's great selling point and the only other thing is

(33:07):
to make use of it as a as a pub or a
restaurant of some sort people are talking about it being a georgian theme pub
and i'm not a great fan of dressing up but um but i but it will and that sort
of thing does take it back to its original time and of course it is so important
these things don't just stand there as museum pieces that people could go get
inside and see them all and so that would be an ideal use.

(33:30):
So now what's happened so far on the campaign to save Higdon Station?
Well it's a bit of a long haul really we've been talking with Durham County
Council as the planning body for several years now they commissioned some surveys
to identify what its historic importance was and what condition it was in and the costs of repair.
But eventually that sort of task of taking it forward has been passed to the Friends.

(33:54):
So we've worked with Historic England in particular with all this research we've
been talking about and we're really pleased that it's been upgraded from a humble
grade two listed building to a grade two star,
which puts it in the top 8% of historic buildings in the country and also importantly
gets it onto the Historic Heritage at Risk Register, which makes it in theory
easier to get grant aid to try and do something with it.

(34:15):
As it stands at the moment, it's in a pretty poor condition.
The outside fabric isn't too bad, but internally it's a wreck,
and it needs an awful lot of very practical things doing to it to make it a
usable building again and really release its potential because when you look
at what railways mean to the wider world,
this is the world's first railway station.

(34:37):
It should be something as a region, as a country, we sing and dance about and make the most of.
So its potential is huge. It's going to be on the walking cycling route all
along the 26 miles of the S&DR.
It's hopefully still of use to the villages of Hyington and Aycliffe.
It's right on the edge of the Newton Aycliffe Business Park with all those big
businesses on it. So again, somewhere really useful for them.

(34:59):
It's next to the University Technical College, where we hope the history of
the railways will inspire their students to things.
So in terms of potential as a business and as a tourist attraction,
as a community facility, it's got an awful lot going toward it.
And does that include keeping it in hospitality as originally designed?
Well, at the moment, we're working on a business plan because clearly,

(35:19):
although we're passionate about it just as a building and a heritage feature,
it's clearly like any building, got to earn its keep.
So in the first instance, we want it to operate as a railway inn,
somewhere if you're local, you can call into, somewhere if you're a tourist
on the walking cycling route, you can call into, and you can feel like you're back in the 1830s.
So we won't be serving bizarre recipes from

(35:40):
the 1830s like pig's trotters we can reassure you of
an interesting menu and decent drinks but it will be a
living history feeling to the whole thing and somewhere where you can hopefully enjoy
events as well will we get to dress up oh there's always opportunities for dressing
up both the staff and for visitors excellent and so how much is this all going
to cost that's the frightening thing nothing is cheap these days especially

(36:00):
when you're dealing with a grade two star listed building because historic england
will quite rightly insist on high standards.
So we're looking at this in two phases. The first phase is acquire the building
because it's privately owned at the moment and do unnecessary emergency repairs,
get the lights on, get the toilets working again so we can operate and look
respectable for the great celebrations in 2025.

(36:22):
That's going to cost around about £500,000. Phase two after that will be probably
more substantial when we actually get a better understanding of how to improve
the building and look at the surroundings of it because at the moment there's
a fairly bland and tarmac car park and other things we could really do to make
the whole place get that heritage railway feel installed in it.
So it looks respectable by 2025.

(36:44):
In terms of the main capital works, in 2027, it'll be 200 years since the building was built.
In 2029, it'll be 200 years since they finally got the licence.
Do you think it's possible that the.
Ultimately the works will have finished by either of those dates yes
i mean i'm an optimist at heart but you can't underestimate
how long it takes to get consents and approvals and tender

(37:06):
work and all the boring stuff but which is necessary
so our target at the moment is to acquire the building by september this year
which gives us the best part of a year to do those initial repair works and
get it functioning and opening again so far that fundraising campaign is going
really well we're We're really grateful to everybody who's joined our crowdsource funding on JustGiving.

(37:29):
Over 200 people have contributed to that from all over the country and Europe, not just locally.
We've got grant applications in with Community Ownership Fund,
Durham County Council, Rail Heritage Trust and a variety of others.
So it's a period of waiting and expectation at the moment to get the money in.
So if we get it in and we buy it by the September, that first key date is going
to be met. after that then it's lots more form filling out to make those other

(37:53):
key dates you mentioned of 2027 to celebrate its 200th birthday and then hopefully
we'll have a license by 2029.
Let's hope so. There are other buildings around the level crossing there aren't
there? There's a signal box they got your beady eye on that?
Yeah the signal box on the other side of the tracks is again another listed
building built quite a lot later by the northeast railway but again just in

(38:14):
terms of that railway character of the whole area and just making it feel important
we've got our beedies on that because network rail are electrifying all their signalling.
So the days of those big lever arm signals that you pulled on the box are short lived.
So we're expecting that to go out of use sometime around 2029.
And we've started conversations about acquiring that when it does.

(38:34):
So hopefully when people turn up, have a good time in the inn,
they can go over the road and enjoy pulling some levers and understanding how
historic signalling worked.
Oh, what could could go wrong alcohol and levers so how
can people help if they want us to want to help save
highington station well clearly we're looking
for a number of things i mean ultimately we've got a lot of money

(38:55):
to raise so if people can donate money that's
fantastic you can either write to us at the usual channels
or look at our just giving page you can look on
the friend's website and find the highington station page it's got
all the necessary links on there so please do donate we're
looking for help in kind so if you're a local business or just an
individual with skills you might be an architect with some spare time

(39:16):
we're really keen for anybody to contribute time in kind which again is really
useful when we're applying for grants because people like seeing that sort of
community involvement and ultimately just spread the word you know tell people
about this fantastic bit of heritage on our doorstep and encourage them to come
and visit us once we've got an open and usable inn that they can.
So if you want to help in any of those ways the Friends website?

(39:39):
Well, you can just Google Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and
you'll find us or it's www.sdr1825.org.uk and you will see all the links to
the Save Hyington Station campaign and there's a contact page as well.
Yeah, just like at this point, we've received a lot of help from private individuals,
but there's a few people who've been fantastically helpful for us.

(40:02):
Paul Howell, the local MP, has raised it in the House several times and has
facilitated introductions.
In the House? The House of Parliament. We've got a number of local councillors
who are really keen on rail heritage, all the way from Sheldon through to Wycliffe.
But in particular, Jim Atkinson, who hasn't been well recently,
has been a real star in this, as well as the rest of his colleagues.

(40:23):
And also the businesses on the local
industrial part, they're all getting invested in the whole S&DR thing.
So Husqvarna in particular have been a real star.
We're having conversations with Hitachi and a number of others.
There is a list of people which it's always a problem of forgetting to mention somebody.
But we're really grateful for all the local help and the help of our local volunteers

(40:44):
in particular. Margaret Fenwick in Hignton in particular has been a real star with this.
So please, more people volunteer, more people help out.
So we'll give the last words now to Councillor David Sutton-Lloyd,
who I interviewed on site a couple of weeks ago.
Hello David, would you like to introduce yourself? I'm David Sutton-Lloyd,
I'm one of the Durham County Councillors for Acliffe and I'm particularly interested

(41:07):
in this project because of the historical content of it. So why should we save Hignton Station?
Well, when you think this was us giving the world a railway system and the fact
that this was the exact spot where the very first Local Motion 1 started, was assembled,
brought down on wagons from Stevenson's workshop in Newcastle, put together.

(41:29):
And that was the start of a wonderful invention, which has absolutely changed the world.
To lose this would be a criminal act, quite frankly.
Not only that, we are able to celebrate the wonderful North East and its history,
and especially its industrial history.

(41:49):
When you think of the work that the Sotland and Dalton Railway is putting in
towards the 2025 200-year anniversary, this on the route is just,
well, it just makes sense that this should be developed.
I just think what it could do for the future development and history of the link to locomotion,
where there's a lot of money being invested by the county, quite rightly,

(42:10):
and what potential this could have for the future of Durham Tourist Trail from
Stockton right up to the top of the Dales.
Absolutely. And what sort of end use do you think this building could have?
I think it's a multi-use when you just think of the Heritage Trail.
Just think of the many millions of railway enthusiasts who would love the idea
of being able to come here and buy a ticket at the station where the very first

(42:35):
railway station was opened and the very first rail ticket was ever produced
that you could get one here.
Link up as a stop on your way from, say, Stockton, exploring that wonderful history.
Stop here for a meal, explore the area, move on to Shilton.
It's just endless. You can link into the local community. We've put a lot of
work into developing pathways and cycleways.

(42:57):
Again, why do we not think a bit broader? This could be a staging course to
take out into the community.
Tick, tick, tick, tick. Absolutely. I love the idea that you can get on the
train in Shildon, get off the train at Hyington, perhaps have a fine ale in
Hyington and then perhaps walk part of the route.
And it's all on the route that was taken on the 27th of September, 1820.

(43:21):
Yes. I mean, when you think about the historical significance of this one spot
in County Durham, you know, The fact that it could be saved for generations
to come, it's a no-brainer, isn't it?
Tales from the Rails. Steaming ahead to 2025.

(43:44):
So, what's coming along the line in the next month?
What has happened in the last month, especially in relation to the S&DR Ready for 2025?
On April the 27th, the day this podcast is published, the mural on the wall
at Fighting Cox will be unveiled.
If you missed it, it's going to be there for a while, so why not walk out to

(44:05):
Fighting Cox and have a look?
On the 27th itself, between half ten and half two in the afternoon,
there will be a chance to learn about volunteering along the line.
There'll be children's activities there and an author reading of Little Local's Big Day. That's me!
This is all taking place on the railway path at Fighting Cox,
just to the rear of Sainsbury's convenience store.
If you're driving there and you're not sure where you're going, the postcode is DL21JT.

(44:31):
On Saturday, May the 4th, we're going to have a big clean-up day at Hyington Station.
This is just to remove broken glass and general rubbish from the outside of
the building and tidy it up a bit.
And it'll hopefully make it a safer place for Cleo and other dogs to visit,
who don't have shoes to protect their feet.
Hopefully, publicity for the event will encourage others to donate to our campaign as well.
Multinational and locally-based business Husqvarna have offered to sponsor the

(44:54):
next Self-Guided Walks booklet, which covers Shildon to Hyington.
We'll be fact-checking the old text in our old booklet by walking the line and
using the train on the 11th of May.
If you check out our events page on our website, you'll get more details.
If you're already a member of the Friends of the S&DR, you'll get an email soon.

(45:14):
There's an open day at Appleby Station on the Settle Carolina line on May 11th
between 10am and 3 in the afternoon.
Closer to home, there's a walk along the S&DR line from West Auckland on the
20th of May, meeting at the car park outside the Well Coffee Shop on the East Green in West Auckland.

(45:34):
The postcode for that is DL149JD and they meet there at 10.15am.
Sturdy footway is essential. In fact, Well East might be better.
The walk will go as far as Hammerbeck Railway Bridge and return, so not too far.

(45:54):
There will be comfort stops at both Broom Mill Cafe and the former Station Master's
House at St Helen, Auckland.
For some time we've been trying to get a project off the ground at the site
of the S&DR's first goods station, often called the Merchandising Station.
This was located on North Road in Darlington, just next to the North Road Bridge
next to Hopetown, and was commissioned in 1826 and built in 1827.

(46:18):
Any guess who oversaw the works?
None other than our friend John Falkus Carter from Higton. The building was
converted into a passenger station and workers' cottages in 1833,
and sadly in 1864 it was demolished.
It's now just a scrubby bit of land behind security fencing and not attractive at all.
What we would like to do is tidy the site up, maybe do some trial excavations
and see what, if anything, is left at foundation level of the building,

(46:41):
then landscape it so that it's attractive.
We've had so many meetings with so many people, and we'd like to thank Peter
Gibson MP, who has kept at this for a long time. Well, things are beginning to happen.
Network Rail have agreed to clear the site and the Rail Heritage Trust have
agreed to support us in investigating the site further and landscaping it.
That'll just make such a huge difference to that bit of North Road if that can

(47:02):
get tidied up. And I can't wait to see how much survives off the merchandising station, if anything.
Anyway, beautiful pens made by a descendant of John Carter, Andy Simmons,
went up for sale with proceeds going to the campaign to save Hignton Station.
They're two styles, the engineer's pen and the director's pen, each £35.
They're both made of specially selected oaken metal. They actually sold out

(47:26):
in the same day that I put them up for sale on the website, site but more are
on their way and when they've been made you can buy them at the Friends website
and just click on the shop tab you'll find them.
We also have some timber sourced from historic places along the S&DR and hope
to add rather special pens using this timber very soon.
Well was I absolutely gutted when I went on to try and buy those pens and found

(47:49):
that they had sold out at absolutely no time whatsoever so I'm very pleased
to know that there's more coming as well.
And as for the rather special ones, I think I'll probably have to book them early as well.
Meantime, Darlington Borough Council have cleared graffiti along the line at
Houghton Road, where the accommodation bridge is, known as the Arnold Road underpass,

(48:11):
or by its older, more attractive name, Throssell Nest Bridge.
The next issue of The Globe comes out in July, so it's time to start thinking
about articles and other contributions for it. We've already received some great
stuff, but more, as ever, is required.
It doesn't have to be research. It could be transcriptions from old documents,
railway recipes, poems about railways, preferably the Stockton and Darlington,

(48:33):
reminiscences about the railway, reporting on your family history and any stunning
pictures you might have taken.
And talking of stunning pictures, the Friends hope to publish a coffee table
book on the S&DR for 2025.
Local photographer Peter Giroux is out there taking photos now for the book.
But if you find you've taken a cracker, do let me know.
We also hope to capture some poetry and possibly also sounds from the line, like birdsong.

(48:58):
And another option might be the sound of Locomotion No. 1 travelling.
We can add those things into the book as QR codes, which can be scanned,
and then you can actually listen to them from the comfort of your home if you want to.
And talking of stunning pictures again, the Friends have been donated 122 amazing
black and white photos of the building of of the replica locomotion No.

(49:20):
1 in 1975 in Darlington.
These have been made available to the Friends by the family of Mike Sato,
who oversaw its construction.
They're in the process of being put on the Friends website, so you'll be able to view them yourself.
Just click on the Community Museum tab and then the Archives tab.
The next Friends monthly meeting will be 7pm Thursday 2nd of May at Darlington

(49:43):
Cricket Club. And of course, everybody is welcome.
You don't need to be a member, but if there's anything important, you won't have a vote.
But do join because you get a book on the SMDR worth £7.99 and a lovely metal
badge which retails at £2.50.
And they cost more than many of the membership options.
A couple of late news items just picked up this morning. morning Tees Cottage
Victorian pumping station on Coniscliffe Road in Darlington is having their

(50:07):
next open day on, well two open days, May the 18th and May the 19th.
Again if you don't know where that is you've probably driven past it loads of
times but it's at DL38TF.
It's a stunning piece of Victorian engineering in there, really well worth going in to have a look.
And photographer Photographer and friend of the Stockton and Darlington Railway,

(50:30):
Elaine Visor, is exhibiting some
of her work at Crown Street Library in Darlington from the 4th of May,
and some of that has been inspired by the railway, so worth popping in and taking a look.
If I could just take this opportunity just to offer a brief thank you to all
our volunteers and members.
They're a fantastic bunch. They all do wonderful things.
And while it's unfair to pick anyone out in particular, the Darlington group

(50:53):
have really got going over the last few months.
And they've been doing some fantastic work clearing the guided walk routes,
which we popularise in our booklets.
So a big thank you to all our volunteers and helpers.
Music.

(51:14):
Our star of the S&DR this month is John Falkus Carter, who designed and oversaw
the construction of Hindton Station.
Much of what we know about Carter is thanks to the research carried out by our
late friend, Brendan Boyle.
Brendan loved railways, he loved the S&DR and he loved real ale,
and these passions united for him with his research into S&DR taverns.

(51:34):
John Falkus Carter was born in Hindton and christened in St Michael's Church there in 1787.
His parents, Thomas Carter and Anne Nye Blakey, had married at Hignton in July 1786.
He was married to a Scottish woman, Jean Stewart from Perthshire.
A person of taste, clearly.

(51:56):
The couple had eight children, Jane, Anne, Thomas, Matthew, Caroline,
nice name, Margaret, John and William.
They were all baptised in Hignton between 1812 and 1828.
John was described in their baptismal records as a mason, one of two listed
in the village in Parson and White's 1828 trade directory.
On some occasions he was described as a builder.

(52:16):
He certainly wasn't a trained architect or bridge surveyor, but an experienced stone mason.
He must have stood out as someone literate and with good drafting and organisational
skills to be taken on by the railway company.
Clearly he was well located to take on the works with Hignton being close to
the railway. There are also some hints that he had Freemasonry connections with

(52:38):
at least one of the founding Pease family, and that might have helped too.
Carter designed and supervised S&DR projects along the whole length of the line.
He was probably the world's most frequent railway passenger from 1825.
It's unclear when Carter's association with the S&DR began, but in June 1824,
he was engaged as contractor for a cottage at St. Helen, Auckland.

(53:00):
I do wonder which building that was. While the following December brought a
part-time engagement as Inspector of Works and Materials on the Scourn Bridge
in Darlington, where he was still making changes to the bridge in May and June 1825,
not long before the railway opened,
he seems to have had concerns from the outset that the Scourn Bridge wasn't

(53:20):
strong enough, concerns that would turn out to be true.
Carter would have a strong ability to predict a problem.
In August 1825, he was producing plans for the depot buildings at St John's
Crossing in Stockton, including the wayhouses at the depots there and the terminus
of the Darlington branch line.
Subsequently, Carter and Thomas Storey, see podcast number one,

(53:44):
designed the Shildon workshops with Carter designing the buildings,
including the first group of cottages at New Shildon.
And that would include Timothy Hackworth's first house and issuing the tenders
for the works as late as September 1825, days before the railway opened.
By November 1825, two months after opening, he was told to get a move on and
employ more people to get the workshops completed at New Sheldon.

(54:07):
The committee were very dissatisfied by the progress or lack of it.
By December 1825, he was making improvements to Shildon Lane at Elton Colliery,
and in that capacity he was working to instructors, not just from the railway
company, but because it was a road, also our local magistrate and the hero of
Trafalgar, Captain William Price Comby.
Towards the end of March 1826, the S&DR were looking to dispose of Carter's

(54:32):
services, but in June that year, the company went back to him and asked him
to design three inns and three warehouses.
Regarding the warehouses, John Carter was instructed to draw up a specification
and agreement for the work to be finished in six weeks' time. Six weeks!
The contractors to find lime, sand and scaffolding, but the railway company

(54:53):
to find all other materials.
At the same time, the S&DR adopted the plan for a cottage to be built at Aycliffe
Lane, our station, and Carter was directed to agree terms with builders.
As we heard earlier, the building or cottage or railway station or inn at Hyington
Level Crossing on Aycliffe Lane was originally designed to be a storey taller
than it is now, but the S&DR committee looked to drop it down to a single storey.

(55:16):
Carter advised against it, but
was ignored. He thought it was a false economy and would save only £42.
Carter also suggested that they consult magistrates to ascertain whether a licence
might be granted for the two inns that fell under the jurisdiction of Captain William Price Cumbie.
Perhaps a conversation had been hat. Perhaps Carter smelled a rat.
As we know, the licence was refused until 1829, causing a major headache for

(55:39):
the railway company, but undoubtedly saving a few headaches for engine drivers with a thirst.
Carter continued as inspector of buildings and oversaw the repair of dry stone
walls along the railway company's boundaries at the west end of the line.
He explored the best place to provide a brewery near the Darlington depots.
He oversaw the construction.

(56:05):
And in a departure of masonry work, he is also recorded as caring for the Black
Boy engine on the Black Boy branch line.
In July 1828, the S&DR company referred to him having already created additional
sidings along the line at the eastern end so that it would gradually become a regular double way.
This is interesting because the line would not be fully doubled until 1832.

(56:28):
And do you know why there was such a delay?
Well, the company minutes of the 17th July 1832 reported the double line of
railroad was greatly retarded by the quarantine regulations in the winter.
Otherwise, your committee would now have had the pleasure of announcing its completion.
The quarantine regulations were to do with an outbreak of cholera,
for which there was no cure.

(56:49):
Cholera had arrived by boat in Sunderland in October 1831 and then proceeded
to spread north and south.
It would result in 31,000 deaths that winter in England, Scotland and Wales.
It's extraordinary that economic productivity had been slowed down before on
other major projects due to self-isolation to contain the spread of disease.

(57:10):
Maybe the events of 2020 and lockdown were not so unprecedented after all.
Back to June 1828, the company felt once again there was not enough new building
to warrant his services, but he could continue to manage the Black Boy engine.
Only seven months later, on the 16th of January 1829, he was re-engaged for
one day a week for the ensuing year at £52 in order to inspect all bridges and

(57:34):
other masonry under construction.
That included the Skern Bridge, which was showing signs of weakness.
The bridge had been designed by Ignatius Bonamy, who was an experienced architect
of bridges, but only of road bridges.
Carter had overseen the works and made changes to the design,
but it hadn't been enough.
Incidentally, and just to take you down a siding briefly, Ignatius Bonamy was

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also the designer of Trafalgar House, where our licence-refusing hero of Trafalgar lived in Hyington.
The Skern Bridge needed new flanking walls and Carter asked to delay the works
which were due to start in February because the weather was still too bad The
works were put off until May,
It's worth bearing this in mind when you look at the famous painting by John

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Dobbin of the opening day of the S&DR.
The bridge as he drew it and painted it was how it looked after John Carter
made his alterations in 1829.
Before that, the bridge was much simpler, so it's not a fully accurate reflection of the opening day.
His next career continued with his providing plans and specifications in February
1829 for a masonry bridge over the River Gonlis on the new Hagerleesies branch.

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The tenders to build this bridge were awarded to Simpson and Carter.
Confusingly, the Carter mentioned here is also a John Carter,
also a Mason, but it's not our John Carter.
This is another John Carter, and he went on to build a number of S&DR bridges
with Simpson, after our John Falcus Carter had died.

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This has caused some of us a lot of angst, I have to tell you,
when doing research, and at one point it looked like a dead man was bidding for work.
Moving on though, our John Carter also carried out alterations to the railway
offices in Stockton and oversaw the building of a stable there for Mr Peacock,
who managed the way house.
His inspecting role finished at the end of 1829 and his subsequent involvement

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seems to have been solely as a contractor.
His role as clerk of works was taken over by William Byrne.
There was more to Carter than the railway work though. He was also a property
owner in Hignton and he did building work in the area, including considerably
enlarging the vicarage at Gainford.
He was an insurance agent for a fire company as well. On October 1st 1830,

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John Falcos Carter, Mason of Hyington in the county of Durham, made a will.
It was written by Francis Mewburn, the railway company's first solicitor,
and his executive was none other than the hero of Trafalgar, William Price Comby.
Carter was only 43 and still had a young family. Was he terribly organised or
did he smell another rat?
Sadly, it was another rat. He died on the 23rd January 1831. He was only 44.

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The Durham Chronicle said his death was much regretted. He was described as
a mason and a builder, but he was so much more for the S&DR.
He was buried at St. Michael's in Hyneton and supplied with an elaborate headstone,
perhaps organised in advance and featuring symbols of masonry and Freemasonry.
His wife Jean went on to live until 1855 and died when she was 66.

(01:00:30):
Carter left provision for her and his children in his will that his estate should
be sold so that she could have the funds.
The auctions were held at the Bay Horse in Hyneton, still there folks,
although it took several attempts for the sales to go through.
Meanwhile, she appears to have run a grocer's shop in Hyneton,
and possibly taken over from her mother-in-law.
So John Carter gave much of his life to the S&DR and many of the structures
that survived bear his hand.

(01:00:51):
He gave sound advice that was often ignored and had a talent for predicting a problem.
He was indispensable to the S&DR from 1824 until the end of 1829.
Every time they thought they didn't need his services anymore and terminated
his contract, they ended up having to ask him back again.
It might have been ill health that finally brought his working relationship
with the S&DR to an end. So if you're at a loose end, why not try to find the

(01:01:15):
grave at St Michael's Churchyard in Hyington and then pop into the Bay Horse
and raise a toast to John Carter.
Caroline, have you suggested drinking beer at every podcast so far? Yes.

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UK.
That's it for another month. We hope you've enjoyed delving into the history
of Hyington Station and John Carter.
Remember, you can help prepare for 2025 by joining the Friends of the S&DR at www.sdr1825.org.uk.
And you'll also find links there to our Save Hyington Station campaign.

(01:02:03):
And here's a reminder of some other useful contacts.
Kate Barratt is the S&DR Heritage and Community Participation Manager. you.
She has an S&DR community fund which can provide grants of a few hundred to
a few thousand pounds and which are available over the next four years to help
people celebrate and conserve the S&DR.
If you have an idea then get in touch with Kate and she'll provide initial feedback
on your idea and if it fits the community grant objectives encourage you to submit an application.

(01:02:27):
The team of various officers in the local authorities include Nicky Halifax
the 2025 Festival Director.
They can all be now contacted through one single email address,
which is info at sdr200.co.uk, which people should use for any general inquiries.
And if you need help getting your S&DR facts right for your event or your business

(01:02:49):
advertising, just contact the Friends of the S&DR via their webpage.
A big thank you, as always, to Dave Reynolds of the Railway Institute in Shildon for our theme music.
And a special big thank you to Lee Morris, rapidly becoming our in-house actor,
who quickly and at very short notice became Robert Metcalf, who witnessed the

(01:03:09):
placing of Locomotion No. 1 on the rails in 1825.
And thank you too to Niall Hammond, the chair of the Friends of the S&DR,
for being our guest co-presenter today.
I've been Caroline Hardy. I've been Archie Mackay. And I'm still Niall Hammond.
Cleo, wake up. Time to go. Bonnie, time to go.

(01:03:31):
Music.