WHEN the network of railways started to proliferate around the country during the 1830s, although Andover was a central hub for the network of roads, it remained without a rail link until 1840 when a station was built at Micheldever by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). From Andover, it meant a journey of 10 miles or so in order to reach it, albeit over a much-improved, old road that crossed the Ladies Walk to the south-east of the town. To flatten the gradient a deep cutting was dug through the chalk hill which divided the Ladies Walk that then had to be bridged. Tasker’s ironworks cast a new iron bridge in 1851 which still crosses the gap today but builder William Gue was responsible for the first (wooden) bridge. The new road was the final turnpike road to be constructed through Andover - though most of it was not new - and basically followed an old route called the Galicar Way.

As the new means of transport by rail caught on, Andover agitated for their own connection to the network from the town itself, to link with Basingstoke and Salisbury. Disagreements between the two competing railway companies (LSWR) and the Great Western Railway (GWR) over who should build it caused delay, and in frustration at the progress a band of Andover worthies formed their own railway company in an effort to speed matters up. It was enough to force the LSWR to take up the project and although the original scheme was to go as far as Yeovil, that failed to be sanctioned by the House of Lords; happily, the stretch from Basingstoke to Salisbury was passed.

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Andover Junction before 1882, the first platform still in place (Image: Image by Alfred Seeley and courtesy David Howard) Work started in December 1847 but was impeded by insufficient funds to cope with the huge rise in land prices during that period and it was not until nearly seven years later that the line reached Andover from Basingstoke in 1854 – it was to take another three years to reach Salisbury – and an official opening ceremony was performed on 3 July that year. The contractor, Thomas Brassey, made enough out of the project to provide a celebratory lunch and several directors of the LSWR came on a special train from London, while most of the borough council, including the mayor Giles Westbury, Henry Earle, John Poore, Henry Loscombe, Turner Poulter Clarke, Henry Thompson and others were eager recipients, which was held in a marquee set up in a field adjoining the railway, the occasion chaired by the architect of the line, Joseph Tite. The catering of a ‘cold collation’ was provided by Edward Wolfe of the Star and Garter Hotel.

There were plans for a similar treat to be provided for the poor of the town on the same day. In contrast to the largesse of Thomas Brassey, the financing of this was intended to be from public subscription to which the mayor had started the ball rolling with a donation of £5. Unfortunately, although some individuals had contributed reasonable sums, the total amounted to less than £15 and the project was abandoned with the donations returned to those who had given them, so the unfortunate local poor were deprived of their treat.  

The new line from Waterloo was soon in regular use. The journey took approximately two hours, calling at Kingston, Woking and Basingstoke along the way. First class fares in June 1855 for a special train to Stockbridge races from London to Andover were 14/-, with second class fares at £10/-. A return journey was 23/4d and 16/8d respectively.

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View of the Junction from Millway Road bridge c.1905 (Image: Cosser, Southampton) There are existing accounts detailing the history of Andover Junction: Peter Yarlett’s two-part history appears in Lookback at Andover (2004) and (2005), whereas there are other wider railway histories that include Andover, all taking the story up to the present day. Suffice to record that the name Andover Junction dates from when it was finally linked to the line running south through Andover Town Station, following the line of the old Andover-Redbridge canal in 1865, and ends with the closing of that line in 1964. An addition to the Junction came in 1882 when the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover line was constructed, necessitating a widening of the rail bed between the two original platforms and the replacement of the north platform with a new bay platform that stands today. This line closed in 1961. But old habits die hard and the term ‘Junction’ as referring to the station survived among locals long after this, as did the now-demolished Junction Hotel nearby and of course the still so-named Junction Road.

The early period was punctuated with a few news-worthy anecdotes: in February 1858, Prince Frederick Albert of Prussia, youngest brother of the then emperor, arrived at Andover station with Baron Frederick de Langen who lived at Wolversdene House. The prince was on an inspection tour of the country, prior to the long period of general unease between Prussia (as part of a unified Germany) and Britain. At Wolversdene, a dinner for the royal visitor was attended by both the Earl of Portsmouth and Lord Charles Wellesley. Robert Beare, a boot and shoe maker with a shop in Bridge Street, was among those who provided vocal entertainment, evidently well known for his singing ability.

In June 1861, a goods train left Grateley station with a supposed number of carriages attached but on approaching Andover, the driver realised some of them had become detached and left behind at Grateley. Meanwhile, the Grateley station master, Mr Tulk, seeing what had happened, sent them on down the track towards Andover, his breaksman and himself on the front to guide them down the constant decline towards Andover. Unfortunately, the driver of the train in reversing back towards Grateley to retrieve his carriages, unexpectedly met the remainder of his train coming towards him, and in the cutting near Monxton the two portions met with a violent crash, killing station master Tulk and badly injuring his breaksman.

On a lighter note, in November 1861, a romance developed between two members of the separate Romany families of Clark and Burton at Weyhill Fair. A proposal of marriage was met with refusal from the female friends of the girl involved but, undaunted, the two got into a horse and cart and directed the driver to take them to Andover station. They were pursued by the girl’s family but once at Andover, the eloping couple jumped onto a train bound for Salisbury and married there the next morning. The newly-married pair then returned to Weyhill Fair, where customary wedding festivities followed, the tale providing some degree of gossip and amusement for the families not involved.

These three stories of Andover Junction are just a sample of what happened in the first years of the station’s existence. No doubt many more followed over the years as thousands of people got on and off the trains that arrived and departed there. Even Agatha Christie in The ABC Murders, included the station at Andover in her narrative of a murder there.    

If you are interested in local history, why not join Andover History and Archaeology Society? Details can be found at andoverlocalhistoryarchaeology.uk.