Monument record 6035/1 - Northampton & Banbury Junction Railway (Towcester to Blisworth)

The Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway was authorised in 1863 as an independent scheme, and ran from the LNWR yard at Blisworth to Cockley Brake on the Buckinghamshire Railway. The Blisworth - Towcester section opened in 1866, the remainder in 1872. It eventually formed part of the Statford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway. The N&BJR was closed to passengers in July 1951 and to goods in October 1951.

{1} London to Birmingham Railway opened in 1838. Station opened in the town in 1872. Towcester to Blisworth Line, Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway Company opened 1866. Towcester to Olney Line of Stratford and Midland Junction Railway Company opened 1891. The passenger service was a disaster and lasted only 4 months, but was later used for freight and special days. The lines later became merged in London and Midland Scottish railway company.
In 1838, however, the railway opened at Blisworth, some four miles to the north-east of Towcester, and the 1840 Directory noted the absence of coach traffic through the town. The impact of the railway is attested in a newspaper article written in 1869. ‘How thoroughly the town was once a town of inns may be sufficiently seen in the (southern) suburb. Those lofty gateways which now lead to tumble-down workshops or to small tenements for the poorer classes, led, in old time, to spacious yards for the reception of various merchandise, and were surrounded with stabling, with warehouses and dormitories.’

<1> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester (Industrial), 3.5 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN100255.

<2> 1920, Railway Clearing House pre-1923 Junction Diagrams, (unchecked) (Plan). SNN106338.

<3> Leleux, R, 1976, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The East Midlands, 40-2(unchecked) (Book). SNN110373.

Record last edited

Aug 16 2023 3:50PM