Drone footage of the remarkable Welland Viaduct

Something different from the Trekking Exploration YouTube account: drone footage of the mighty Welland Viaduct. This stands on the line between Corby and Manton Junction, which was built in the late 19th century as part of a quicker route from London to Nottingham.

Today the line is chiefly used for freight, though there is one passenger journey each way between Melton Mowbray and Kettering on weekdays. This is chiefly so drivers can learn the route - it's also used for diversions on the St Pancras main line if there's a pressing need to avoid Market Harborough.

This footage was shot by David Blower.

Subscribe to the Trekking Exploration Facebook page for exclusive content.

For Michaelmas: St Michael and All Angels, Kettering

Today is Michaelmas - the Feast of St Michael and All the Angels. To mark it, here is my favourite tin tabernacle.

As I noted when I visited St Michael and All Angels, Kettering, Pevsner says it dates from 1907 and "has distinct charm". I also said that its garden gives it more appeal than many conventional urban churches of the period.

A blue plaque at the Rushden home of H.E. Bates

I didn't have much time to explore Rushden - a Northamptonshire village that mushroomed into a major centre of the boot and shoe trade in the late nineteenth century - so I made straight for an attraction I already knew about.

This plaque is on the Rushden home of the novelist and short-story writer H.E. Bates. He was born in the town and educated at Kettering Grammar School.

Rushden appears in several of his works - notably the novel Love for Lydia - as Evensford, while his Uncle Silas stories are set in the Northamptonshire countryside.

But Bates's best known works, thanks to television adaptions, are the Pop Larkin books, and they are set in rural Kent.

Drone footage of the Welland Viaduct

Thirteen miles downstream from Market Harborough, the River Welland passes under one of the least-known wonders on Britain's railways.

At 1275 yards (1166m), the Welland Viaduct is the longest masonry viaduct across a valley in the United Kingdom. It carries the railway 60 feet (18m) above the ground on 82 arches, each with a 40 feet (12 m) span.

It carries freight traffic every day and a single passenger working from Corby to Melton Mowbray and back so that drivers can learn the route. For a while Melton enjoyed two return services to St Pancras over the viaduct.

Drivers have to learn the route because it is often used to divert trains from Kettering to Leicester if there are problems on the main line through Harborough.

When Boris Johnson's aides feared he was going to kill the Queen

Embed from Getty Images

Pippa Crerar is the political editor of the Guardian, but in June 2021 she was at the Mirror. And there she wrote a story saying that Boris Johnson had tried to have his weekly audience with the late Queen in the usual face-to-face way at the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, even though he was himself going down with the virus.

Only when he was persuaded that he could be responsible for the death of the Queen did he abandon the idea.

No 10 told her the story was "completely untrue," but she stood by it and the Mirror published it.

Today Crerar tweeted extracts from Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell's Johnson at 10: The Inside Story that show her story was true:

The previous day he had been due to meet the Queen for their weekly audience, with Palace and No 10 official going back and forth about whether the meeting could take place in person. 

Johnson was eager not to be restricted by the new laws or his apparent symptoms, to the dismay of Palace officials deeply concerned at the risk of exposing the elderly Queen to the virus.

After some convincing, both from the Palace and Cummings, the prime minister agreed to hold the conversation by phone. The content of a prime minster's audience with the sovereign is sacred, with no advisers in attendance and no official record of the discussion. 

The sanctity of this one would be easier to keep than most: afterwards the Queen turned to an aide and commented that she couldn't hear a word of what Johnson said, he was coughing so much.

We know Johnson was willing to sacrifice the truth to burnish his self-image as a man of courage: he claimed to have shaken hands with Covid patients at Kettering General Hospital, even though it had no such patients when he visited it.

But it seems that, for the sake of that image, he was even prepared to put the life of his sovereign at risk.

I don't! Northamptonshire crematorium scrapped as wedding venue after holding just ONE ceremony

The Northampton Chronical & Echo wins our Headline of the Day Award.

Congratulations to them, but not to the now-defunct Kettering Borough Council.

James Hawes and Nick Hayes visit Newton in the Willows

The goal of one of my very first outings with a digital camera has cropped up in two books I have just read.

It is the village of Newton (Newton in the Willows if you are a romantic) near Geddington in Northamptonshire and gets a necessarily brief mention in James Hawes' The Shortest History of England and a much longer one in Nick Hayes's The Book of Trespass.

As I blogged twelve years ago, in 1607 Newton was the site of slaughter:

Over 1000 peasants gathered from Rockingham Forest - men, women and children - led by Captain Pouch. He was a tinker whose real name was John Reynoldes. He claimed to have authority from the kingdom of Heaven and to have a pouch which contained "that which shall keep you from all harm". Following the events of 8 June, it was found to contain nothing more than a piece of green cheese.

The armed bands formed of local men were reluctant to be involved and the gentry had to rely on their own servants to support them. The rebels refused to obey the orders to disperse, and continued to pull down hedges and fill in the enclosing ditches. The King's proclamation was read twice. Still the rebels refused to give way.

Finally, the gentry and their troops charged, and over 40 peasants were killed. Prisoners were taken, imprisoned in St Faith's Church, and the ringleaders tried, hanged and quartered. Their quarters were hung in towns across Northamptonshire as a clear message.

Hayes was in the area to explore the nearby estate of the Duke of Buccleuch - "over thirty times larger than Hyde Park, and reserved for a single family," as he puts it.

Just down the road is another estate. Avondale Gragne, on the outskirts of Kettering, was the subject of an article in the NN Journal last week:

“A good comparison to the Grange estate is to call it a modern day dodge city,” says Ady, who has lived in the area for the past decade, relocating from Norfolk to be near his children.

“You don’t look at people,” says Lorraine. “I keep my head down and don’t look anyone in the eye anymore as it is enough to get you into an argument”.

We are still a very unequal country, and Hayes argues that out system of landholding has much to do with it.

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre: The Kettering Song

A passing mention in the latest edition of The Word Podcast led me to Principal Edwards Magic Theatre and this song.

The band, a favourite of John Peel's, was formed at the University of Essex in 1968. Its members soon abandoned their studies to form a commune.

That commune was in a farmhouse near Kettering. I'd love to know exactly where the farmhouse was, but its general location explains this song. 

The tone is mocking, or at least ironically celebrating, but I won't hear a word against Sainsbury's in Kettering. Back in the 1980s I used to catch the bus and shop there sometimes. (These days Market Harborough has a Sainsbury's and a Waitrose, so there's no point.)

The Kettering Song comes from the band's second album, The Asmoto Running Band, which was produced by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason,

One of its leading members was Root Cartwright. Could he be the same Root Cartwright who was quoted in the Observer in 2002 as chairman of the British Organisation of Non-Parents?

He would have been about the right age, and living in a commune with other people's children could have that effect on you.

Later. And this is where the commune was...

@RFCider I'm told the commune was approximately here, pre housing estate. pic.twitter.com/kJocQKiPdU

— Angie H (@Lowlandslady) August 29, 2021

Much later. The consensus seems to be that the commune was at the still-standing Broughton Grange, and that the band could be found drinking in the Red Lion at Broughton.

Welland Valley Rail Partnership calls for Rutland reopening

A short stretch of reopened railway line in Rutland could reconnect the communities of Kettering, Corby, Stamford, Peterborough together with Luffenham, Whittlesey, March and Wisbech.

That's the claim of the Welland Valley Rail Partnership, which describes its plans like this:

The largest piece of infrastructure is a 3.5 mile section of track between Seaton and South Luffenham. This section is a small part of the Rugby & Stamford railway, opened in the 1800s, closed by Beeching in the 1960s.

This track is required because trains coming from Corby in the south can’t turn right at Manton junction to head towards Peterborough ...

There are 8 houses on the historic trackbed, but we have identified two alternative routes that would avoid any houses. 

The next stage of the project would be a feasibility study to evaluate these alternatives running past South Luffenham, along with the viability of the entire project.

Fire crew saves Kettering resident who got arm stuck in letterbox

 

 

Our Headline of the Day Award goes to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo.

When Boris Johnson shook hands with non-existent Covid patients

"I was at a hospital the other night where there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody you'll be pleased to know and I continue to shake hands."

Salutary to watch Johnson treat it all as a great joke back in March. pic.twitter.com/sAmSfchOfR

— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) October 31, 2020

It's worse than that: Boris Johnson is almost certainly lying here.

I know that's no great surprise - he just says what will get him through the next 10 seconds, whether it's true or not - but it's important we don't lose our capacity to be outraged by this charlatan.

At the time, Johnson was widely assumed to be talking about his visit to Kettering General Hospital on the night of 27/28 February. But the hospital does not appear to have had any Covid patients at the time.

Certainly, the blog post the hospital published at the time made no mention of Covid. It was chiefly concerned with hospital management showing Johnson their need for a new urgent care hub.

Angela Rayner was in no doubt. On 3 March she wrote on Facebook:

Boris Johnson visited Kettering General Hospital and there are NO Coronavirus cases there, but he said he shook hands with patients who had #Coronavirus.

On the next day the Northamptonshire Telegraph did it's best to stand the story up, but fell short:

Where in the county the first coronavirus case is has not yet publicly been made clear, although it is known the patient recently returned from Italy.

Yesterday the Northants Telegraph asked KGH to confirm if it has any cases of coronavirus yet and if so, how many and what action has been taken. 

We also asked if the Prime Minister was talking about KGH when he mentioned shaking hands at a hospital with coronavirus patients.

A hospital spokesman said they won't be commenting.

So there you have it. Johnson told a lie that risked making people lax about taking precautions against the virus because he thought it would make him sound good.

When Kettering Grammar School tracked Soviet satellites

Back in the 1960s, Kettering Grammar School was celebrated for its tracking of Soviet satellites.

Click on the still above to watch a 1966 television report on the school's activities.

I recognise the school buildings because I used to play in the annual Kettering chess tournament there a decade later, but they have since been demolished.

One million pounds worth of sex toys stolen from lorry in lay-by near Kettering

The Evening Standard wins our Headline of the Day Award for its everyday story of Northamptonshire folk.

A scheduled train over the Welland Viaduct

So there I was on Melton Mowbray station this afternoon waiting for a train back to Leicester, when I saw where the next train was going.

There is one passenger train a day in each direction that takes this route, presumably because it is regularly used for diversions and so drivers need experience of it.

It is a line of tunnels and viaducts, so much so that it is known as 'the Alps' among railwaymen.

Its chief landmark is the magnificent Welland Viaduct - the longest masonry viaduct in Britain.

You can see the shadow of its arches in the photographs below - I could not resist catching the train.

Lord Bonkers' Diary: A bicyclist arrives from Kettering

The only downside of the appearance of a new issue of Liberator is that it signals another trip to Bonkers Hall.

As his lordship explains, we join him at his European election results party. Things are moving quickly in politics at the moment, so we are journeying back to a time when Liberal Democrats still poked fun at Chuka Ummuna.

Monday

The bells of St Asquith’s long ago chimed midnight, but no one shows any sign of going home. I am writing these lines in the Green Ballroom here at the Hall as my European elections celebration party takes place around me.

A cheer goes up. Chris Davies and Jane Brophy are returned in the North West. Another cheer. Caroline Voaden and Martin Horwood are home in the South West. Then a bicyclist arises from Kettering, where the East Midlands account is being conducted, with the welcome news that Joan Hunter Dunn is back in the European Parliament.

Freddie and Fiona are here, wrapped in blankets with their feet in mustard baths. Even so, I fear they have each caught a cold after their soaking in church yesterday morning.

“I have been talking to Chukka, and he is very interested in a pact with the Liberal Democrats,” says Fiona. “Obviously, we’d be the senior party.”

“Chuka?” I ask.

“Umunna!”

“Bless you,” I reply.

Of course, you now want to know how the two of them came to be soaked at Holy Communion yesterday…

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Football specials at Kettering in 1989

OK so this is mostly diesel locomotive porn. But it is also a reminder that Kettering Town used to be a serious club and that the nationalised British Rail was good at adapting to exceptional demand - much better than the privatised railways appear to be.

On 28 January 1989 Kettering were drawn away to Charlton Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup. To cater for fans, British Rail laid on four extra trains.

Mind you, it sounds as though the shuttle to Corby was cancelled to make room for the added workings.

There is no footbridge in sight, so Kettering's Stygian underpass must still have been in use.

Fire at a Grade II Listed Kettering factory

Crews remain on the scene of a fire in Regent Street, #Kettering. Road closures remain in place and residents are advised to keep doors and windows closed against smoke. Please avoid the area while the fire is tackled. Read more here: https://t.co/s5drvZi4kO pic.twitter.com/Onsm6aU5aQ

— NorthantsFire (@northantsfire) May 13, 2019

Press reports describe it as the Kettering Bedding Centre, but Historic England know this building as the Regent Works, Regent Street. It was built for the boot and shoe firm Hales & Jowett in 1890.

It is Grade II Listed and that listing says:

This finely-detailed factory is little altered and the carefully detailed and homogeneous front shows it to be a factory but the design also fits into the terraces of houses either side and opposite. This combination of factories and housing adjacent to each other is a particular characteristic of the boot and shoe industry.

I took the photos below last June. If the building has to be demolished it will be sad loss.

Government confirms electrification will reach Market Harborough

A Leicester Mercury story begins:

The electrification on the Midland Mainline will be extended into Leicestershire, the Government has confirmed. 

Transport ministers have said Network Rail has been instructed to draw up plans upgrade the rail route as far as Market Harborough.

Searching this blog, I find that I reported this news in June of last year.

My source was a comment to the Nottingham Post by Sir Peter Soulsby, the mayor of Leicester, after the publication of the invitation to tender to provide the service on this line.

So the campaign by Harborough's MP Neil O'Brien to have the wires reach the town may have been pushing at an open door all along.

Even when electrification was planned to stop at Kettering, there was to be a substation at Braybrooke, a couple of miles from here, where power lines cross the railway.

It's not clear if the we shall gain much from this decision, but the further north the wires go the better.

The Tories fought the last election promising to electrify the line all the way to Sheffield, even though a decision had already been taken to stop 100 miles south of there.

Rediscovering the Cambridge to Kettering line

In the 1970s you could still see the junction where this line joined the Midland main line a couple of Kettering.

But Wikipedia says that the last train to use the line between there and the ironstone workings at Twywell ran in 1971.

Cohen's railway scrapyard near Kettering

Embed from Getty Images

Cohen's scrapyard at Cransley was located on the former Midland Railway's ironstone branch from Kettering to Loddington.

It used to be possible to spot the track to it curving off the main line just south of Kettering station. Houses now occupy the trackbed.

This atmospheric photograph, taken in February 1967, shows a former LMS shunter waiting to be broken up.