Ernest Marples: The Shadow Behind Beeching

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In 1994 as per standard practice the official archives relating to the Macmillan government were released, but without the archives relating to the Denning Report. The then Prime Minister John Major questioned this and was invited to read them. He then agreed that they remain closed to the public until 2048. There is a cul-de-sac in the Leicestershire village of Countesthorpe about 7mi (11km) south of Leicester city centre aptly named Beeching's Close. Countesthorpe railway station was served by the former Midland Counties Railway line between Leicester and Rugby, although this was closed in January 1962, well over a year prior to the publication of The Reshaping of British Railways. The gardens of the houses on the west side of the close meet the boundary of the old line.

The importance of being Ernest? Well over forty years after his death in 1978, post-war Tory Transport minister, Ernest Marples remains a deeply controversial figure.. Emerging initially as a relatively dynamic, young thrusting politician in the comparatively placid world of 1950s Conservative politics, today there are more than a few clouds over his character namely the apparent conflict of interest between his pro-car transport reforms and personal business interests, his tax exile and his penchant for being whipped while wearing women's clothes.Unlike in the 19th century, when new railways threatened the viability of turnpike roads, the commitment in the 20th century to build thousands of miles of motorways put a nail in the coffin for many local railway routes. East Grinstead, where Beeching lived, was formerly served by a railway line from Tunbridge Wells (West) to Three Bridges, most of which was closed. [1] To the east of the current East Grinstead station, the line passed through a deep cutting. This cutting currently forms part of the A22 relief road through East Grinstead. Due to the depth of the cutting, locals wanted to call the road Beeching Cut, but it was decided to call it Beeching Way. [30] The Livingstone brothers "redeveloped MARKS & SPENCER'S FORMER HEADQUARTERS at 55 BAKER STREET ..." For those whose stations fell to Beeching’s axe, the reality is bleaker. “I remember years ago listening to the Steve Wright show on Radio 1,” Eddie Fisher, a volunteer pushing for the reopening of the line at Fleetwood, told the Observer on 1 February. “A caller came on and Wright hadn’t heard of the town he came from, so he asked if it was a big place. And the way he defined ‘big’ was ‘does it have a train station?’ If you live in a place, these things matter.” Sir Richard Greenbury -- who became the chairman and chief executive of Marks & Spencer in 1991 -- was Chairman of the Board of Governors (from 1995/96) and subsequently Emeritus Governor of the OXFORD CENTRE FOR HEBREW AND JEWISH STUDIES.

There is useful work in progress on spurs and by-passes at Ross-on-Wye, Maidstone, Maidenhead, Doncaster, Stretford, and a few other places. But at the present rate of roadbuilding it will be another generation before these spurs and by-passes lead to a coherent road system. And given motorways, what is to be done with the traffic in the towns to which they lead? Here there are not even many plans.

Macintyre, D. (1 January 1994). "The 1963 Cabinet Papers / British Rail: Beeching branded 'PR disaster' ". The Independent . Retrieved 21 May 2021. Motorways have also left their mark on our cultural landscape. The Watford Gap service station opened in 1959, the first of many novel and exciting spaces to visit during a long motorway ride (and even buy a souvenir postcard). New dining experiences attracted teenagers and families on day trips as well as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and other celebrities. Marples’ first hand experience of the construction industry caught the attention of the Conservative Party leadership. When the party returned to government in 1951, Marples was the ideal choice to assist the Minister for Housing, Harold Macmillan, deliver on his promise of building 300,000 new houses a year. This partnership would develop into a strong and lasting friendship between the two men. From the vista to the foliage, every detail of the first motorways was carefully planned to create the safest and least distracting driving experience. a b c d e Hardy, R.H.N. (1989). Beeching: Champion of the Railway?. London: Ian Allan Ltd. pp.44–48. ISBN 978-0-7110-1855-6.

On 21 May 1969, Beeching performed the official opening ceremony for the heritage railway between Totnes and Ashburton, then known as the Dart Valley Railway. [21] The first Beeching report, titled The Reshaping of British Railways, was published on 27 March 1963. [19] Department details: AH/37 (British Railways Board)". The National Digital Archive of Datasets. Kew: The National Archives. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Intelligencefiles from this period, state quite clearly that Morrison was instrumental in informing other powerful Jewish businessmen connected to the Russians which products would be going up in the annual budget... In 2011, Ian and Natalie Livingstone bought the Notting Hill house previously owned by Elisabeth Murdoch and her then husband MATTHEW FREUD, who is linked via Clarence Mitchell to the Madeleine McCann abduction and suspected VIP paedophile ring.For anyone who wants to understand why the British railway system was transformed in the 1960s, this book is highly recommended. Daniels, G.; Dench, L. A. (1973). Passengers No More (2nded.). London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0438-2. OCLC 2554248. Haywood, R. (2016) [2009]. Railways, Urban Development and Town Planning in Britain: 1948–2008. London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315603568. ISBN 978-1-317-07164-8. OCLC 948604876.

In early 1965 Beeching unveiled the new brand for the railways – British Rail – and its 'double arrow' symbol, which is still in use as the symbol of National Rail now. The legal name of the British Railways Board did not change. On 16 February Beeching introduced the second stage of his reorganisation of the railways. [13] his second report set out his conclusion that of the 7,500 miles (12,100km) of trunk railway throughout Britain, only 3,000 miles (4,800km) "should be selected for future development" and invested in. This policy would result in traffic through Britain being routed through nine selected lines. Traffic to Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland would be routed through the West Coast Main Line running to Carlisle and Glasgow; traffic to the north-east would be concentrated through the East Coast Main Line which was to be closed north of Newcastle; and traffic to Wales and the West Country would go on the Great Western Main Line, then to Swansea and Plymouth. Underpinning Beeching's proposals was his belief that there was still too much duplication in the railway network. Of the 7,500 miles (12,100km) of trunk route, 3,700 miles (6,000km) involves a choice between two routes, 700 miles (1,100km) a choice of three, and over a further 700 miles (1,100km) a choice of four. [14] See also: History of rail transport in Great Britain Banchory railway station on the Deeside Railway, Scotland, in 1961. The station closed in 1966.Kinneir and Calvert went on to redesign signs across the whole road network, replacing the cacophony of signs which varied in style and size between regions. a b Garry Keenor. "Railway Finances – Report of a Committee chaired by Sir David Serpell KCB CMG OBE". The Railways Archive . Retrieved 25 July 2010. Are the Jewish Livingstone brothers' current developments financed There is a pub that was called Lord Beechings at the end of the Cambrian Railways at Aberystwyth, which until its refurbishment by Brains Brewery was decorated with various railway memorabilia, in particular regarding the Aberystwyth – London and Aberystwyth – Carmarthen service, which he closed. It was previously called The Railway until the 1990s, and in 2022 its new owner renamed it The Hoptimist, claiming that it wanted to bring people together, not isolate them. Did Beeching, who died in suburban obscurity in 1985, deserve to become a bogeyman? He would have hated the easy scapegoat he has become. Critics cast him as cold, analytical and heartless; a bean-counter with no regard for the subtleties of rural life. The reality was rather different: Beeching was a self-effacing, good-humoured and highly intelligent man. As a PhD student at Imperial College London in the 1930s, he had worked on early plans for an atomic bomb. Many would say his brief career in infrastructure was altogether more destructive.