Andover and Redbridge canal and the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ railway
The canal
A survey to plan the prospective route of a canal from Andover to Redbridge (on the western side of Southampton) was conducted by Robert Whitworth in 1788/9. The enabling Act of Parliament authorising construction was granted in 1789. The canal, which was 22 miles (35km) long and incorporated 24 locks, was completed in 1794.
However, the canal was never a financial success and proved to be a poor investment. There is now just a single vestige of the canal (Walk 15) – an overgrown and derelict section of about 2 miles (3km) between Greatbridge and Romsey.
The ‘Sprat and Winkle’ railway
Restored signal box from the former ‘Sprat and Winkle’ railway in Romsey (Walk 15)
In 1858, an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of a railway to replace the canal was granted. Before work could start, the railway promoters had to acquire the Andover to Redbridge canal itself as it was along the canal bed that much of the railway would be laid. The purchase was completed in 1859 by the Andover and Redbridge Railway Company. The initial attempts to build the railway were however blighted by the failings and manipulative behaviour of the contractor and the railway’s own engineer, both of whom were eventually removed in 1861. Even when work recommenced, it was hesitant and sporadic. One particular stumbling block was the need to remove the congealed mud from the bed of the canal and then to fill it with chalk obtained locally to create a sound base on which the track bed could be laid – a monumental task.
In 1863, the Andover and Redbridge Railway Company was in financial difficulty and it was acquired by the London and South Western Railway. Construction of the line took until 1864 to complete but permission was not given to start operating immediately because the government inspector who undertook the commissioning survey made it a condition that the rails had to be replaced with ones more substantial. The railway finally opened in 1865 after the remedial work had been carried out.
One of the practical problems experienced during the first 20 or so years of operation was derailment. This inconvenient and no doubt expensive distraction was mainly due to the line having several sharp bends – in part as a result of the track being laid directly over the former canal bed. This unsatisfactory situation needed to be resolved and the catalyst for bringing that about was the opening in 1882 of the line between Andover and Swindon via Marlborough, which created a direct route to Southampton.
The fortunes of the Andover and Redbridge railway improved significantly due to the increase in its traffic and, as a consequence, it was decided that the line should be straightened and converted from a single to a double track. This work was completed in 1885.
The railway at some point became known as the’ Sprat and Winkle’ and there are several theories why it was blessed with such a name. One possible reason is the suggestion that the line went through areas where sprats and winkles might be harvested nearer the sea at Southampton; another refers to the single engine and carriage formation that operated over part of the line − the engine being the ‘sprat’ and the carriage the ‘winkle’!
The railway was strategically very significant in World War 1, providing transport for both personnel and munitions. During World War 2 it was also used extensively and particularly in the latter stages to transfer wounded service personnel from Chilbolton airfield (Walk 7) via Fullerton Junction (Walk 6) to the American hospital at Stockbridge.
From the 1950s the use of the railway for both freight and passenger traffic gradually declined. The line between Andover and Kimbridge (Stage 7 and Walk 13) had become financially unviable and was closed in 1964 as one of a series of closures of parts of the rail network made in the wake of Dr Richard Beeching’s report, The Reshaping of British Railways, published in 1963.
The ‘Longparish Loop’ also known as the ‘Nile Valley Railway’
There is another strand to the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ story. In 1882, an Act of Parliament was passed authorising the construction of a branch line of about 7 miles (11km) from Fullerton to Hurstbourne where it connected with the London and Salisbury mainline at the viaduct just south of St Mary Bourne (Stages 2 and 3). This branch line, which was completed in 1885, became generally known as the ‘Longparish Loop’ (the Loop), and Fullerton became Fullerton Junction.
The quiet remnants of Fullerton Junction (Stage 5/Walk 6)
It was an expensive project as it turned out. The hope and expectation was that the existence of this connecting line would encourage more traffic from Manchester and the midlands to Southampton rather than let a rival railway company construct a more direct line to Southampton through Didcot, Newbury, Whitchurch and Winchester. It was put to the promoters of the alternative line that they should ‘join forces’ to save the expense that would be incurred and instead make use of the Loop.
In the event the proposal was rejected and the more direct line was constructed which meant the Loop never fully realised its potential. It was mainly used to transport freight as the passenger business was limited due to the lack of demand. Together with the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ railway, it was particularly useful during World War 1.
Passenger traffic ceased in 1931 and the track between Longparish and Hurstbourne was removed in 1934. The remaining part of the track between Fullerton Junction and Longparish came in to its own again during World War 2 when Harewood Forest (Stages 3 and 4 and Walks 3 and 5) was used for the storage of munitions by the RAF. It was closed for good in 1956 and the track removed in 1960.
Geology and landscape
The ‘ribbon’ of chalk and flint at Inkpen Beacon (Stage 1)
The TW begins at the escarpment of Inkpen Beacon at a height of 280m. It is astonishing to think that at one time this area was at the bottom of the sea. The geology of the North Wessex Downs, is mainly upper chalk formed during the Upper Cretaceous period (99–65 million years ago). Upper chalk is soft white limestone and is the product of the fossilised skeletal remains of countless microscopic marine algae and other creatures.
The chalk deposits also contain flint nodules in large quantity. There are some parts of the downland that are covered by shallow deposits of clay; these also contain flints but to a lesser extent and are known as clay with flints. The availability of flint has led to its wide use as building material throughout the Test Valley.
Chalk is also porous and permeable and therefore the soil drains easily. As the chalk is gradually dissolved by the rain it becomes alkaline and ‘hard’ due to the calcium content. The underlying chalk also acts as an aquifer or reservoir and naturally regulates the rate at which water percolates into the springs further down where the soil is not so porous and the water has to find its way back to the surface.
The springs in turn supply the river and its tributaries with water that is oxygenated, clear and full of nutrients. Significantly, the temperature of the water remains fairly constant at about 10°C. This combination of factors together with the lack of flooding (because rain water quickly disperses and does not accumulate) has also helped create the large deposits of peat found along parts of the valley floor.
The volume of water held in the chalk aquifer does vary from time to time, which means that during drier periods there may be insufficient water to feed into
