Tag Archives: crossing gates

Mary and Sue Henderson: Thorley, railway gates 1950s

Thorley Map west from Hill Place Lane

Thorley Map west from Hill Place Lane

Hill Place Lane

Where the railway crossed the road, there was a little cottage where Mr. and Mrs Hoare lived, after Mrs Hoare managed to set fire with an oil lamp to the thatch of their cottage in Wellow. The cottage was completely destroyed and the Bishops, who lived in the other side, had to move out to Thorley.
Mrs Hoare was supposed to open the crossing gates first thing in the morning for the early train, but she wasn’t an early riser. Mum said she remembered hearing the terrific row when the train crashed into the crossing gates on more than one occasion. The sound echoed through the whole village. Mary Henderson b 1954