Special trains to Blakesley Agricultural & Horticultral Show 1909

[Dick Bodily]

On Thursday 30th September 1909 the East & West Junction Railway ran two special trains to Blakesley Station for Blakesley Show.  One came from Blisworth and took about 50 passengers from there picking up around 500 more at Towcester!  Another ran from Stratford upon Avon and by the time it left Moreton Pinkney around 500 passengers were aboard. Return fares were as follows: Blisworth 1s.2d, Towcester 6d, Stratford 2s, Ettington 2s, Kineton 1s.6d, Fenny 1s, Byfield 9d, Moreton 6d.  A notice at Blakesley station advised  'Return special trains will leave Blakesley station as follows: For Stratford upon Avon and all intermediate stations - 9.15pm. toward Towcester, Blisworth and Northampton (change trains at Blisworth) - 9.30pm.'

So in total over a thousand people travelled to Blakesley that day on the two specials alone !  This is a remarkable figure when you take into account that Thursday was a working day for just about every working man and a school day for every child, it was also Banbury Cattle and Livestock Market day which would have stopped many farm people from attending. I should imagine that there might have been more passengers using Blakesley that day than for the rest of the year put together! I don't know if special trains were run in other years but I would have thought that the railway company would have been encouraged by these figures! 

The 1909 show would have been held in the field immediately east of Blakesley Hall, the one where the two lodges still stand with most of the show taking place to the Woodend side of the chestnut avenue. Among the agricultural exhibits over 50 heavy horses were on show, but they most probably arrived under their own steam by road from local farms.  I wonder how many ended up as 'war horses' a few years later. There was provision for car parking even in 1909, C W Bartholmew, self appointed Squire of Blakesley Hall, was a member of the RAC and had many friends who were pioneer motorists including George Bernard Shaw. There would have been a funfair, probably Billings, and music provided by Blakesley Silver Band (concert in the afternoon; music for dancing to in the evening) There may well have been a variety show with novelty circus style acts. Blakesley Miniature Railway would have been running that day as well. CWB would have been keen to show off his brand new loco 'Blacolvesley' running on the newly extended line.

All this info has come from research for his latest book by Doug Blake, who has kindly let me use the information here. His research, using old newspaper extracts,etc.that were quoting contemporary E&WJR press releases, was done at Northampton Library.

Blakesley Show still continues to this day but at a different location as a one of the few remaining village agricultural shows which has refused to compromise by becoming a 'Country Show'. It features working displays and ploughing by vintage tractors with usually a steam ploughing team in attendance also. There's sadly no flower and horticutural marquee, no funfair or miniature railway nowadays, but there's still an excellent livestock and horse show which attracts prize animals and thousands of people from the far and wide farming community and is even reckoned to be the largest one day agricutural show in the UK.