Other interesting bits and pieces: Fern Down (note two words) is but a shadow of things to come, and the station at Wimborne Minster lies on the outskirts of the town.
Why, I don't know, but from the first time I heard the name, " Uddens
Crossing " has fascinated me. The railways of Britain were littered with
these crossings where men would monitor and control the traffic, both on the
railway and the road, and live close-by. There were several on this stretch of
railway - to the west there were two before Wimborne (at Canford), and to the
east, the crossings at Ameysford & West Moors itself.
When the railway first came to this part of Dorset, Uddens House was owned by
the Greathed (or Greathead) family, in particular the 'military' branch of
same. Wm. Greathead is listed as one of the principal shareholders of the
Southampton & Dorchester Railway.
| This is an extract from the Ordnance Survey map of the 1920s that shows the
site of Uddens Crossing in the days when it would have been a truly busy place!
Note that on this map, Uddens House is still marked: it was apparently
demolished in 1955. Other interesting bits and pieces: Fern Down (note two words) is but a shadow of things to come, and the station at Wimborne Minster lies on the outskirts of the town. |
|
| In this extract from the modern 'Landranger' series of maps, Uddens Crossing is circled (red), and the site of Uddens House is shown by the red letters: " UH ". Note the huge swathes of 'plantation' trees (mainly coniferous) compared with the 1920s version - then much of this area would have consisted of scrubby heathland: much as present-day New Forest looks as you cross it via the A31. | |
In the census of 2 April 1871 in Uddens House, Chalbury, Dorset, England, she was listed as the daughter of Edward Harris Greathed.5 In the census of 3 April 1881 in Uddens House, Chalbury, Dorset, England, she was listed as the daughter of Edward Harris Greathed
William Greathed
Greathed, William Wilberforce Harris (1826?1878), army officer:-
Major-General William Wilberforce Harris Greathed was invested as a Companion,
Order of the Bath (C.B.). He gained the rank of Major-General in the service of
the Royal Engineers (?India?); on the site of the National Portrait Gallery, he
is mentioned as one of the 'sitters' for a portrait dealing with the Relief of
Lucknow in 1857.
The Greatheds were a military family, with three brothers of the same name
being in India - perhaps Uddens House is their family seat? William Wilberforce
was apparently the youngest brother, serving in the Bengal Engineers when he
was severely wounded in the storming of Delhi.
1. William Wilberforce Harris Greathed (1826-1878) R.E., an experienced Indian
military engineer, was finally chosen as one of the eight members of the Indian
Sanitary Commission. He became head of the North Western Provinces Irrigation
Department in 1867 after serving in China in 1860 and at the Horse Guards as
Assistant Military Secretary
He had one child: Mary Caroline Greathed, died 5th November 1913.
Uddens Crossing controlled its own 'block' working on the railway: to the east, it worked with West Moors (Junction) Box; to the west with Wimborne (Station) box, though there was a 'block cutout' at Canford Crossing to the west which could be switched in or out as required to shorten that block.
| This photograph is taken looking towards Wimborne (i.e. westward), showing the level-crossing box. This crossing was roughly half-way between West Moors Junction & Wimborne Minster. As well as the siding serving the adjacent abbatoir (left-hand side in this picture), there was an 'estate' siding [ see right-hand side ], so service the Uddens Estate. The sidings were in use until the line closed for general goods traffic in 1965. I believe that the frame, levers & gatewheel from this box were recovered and used on a preserved railway - details to follow. |  |
Uddens House was built in 1747 by (instruction from) Nathaniel Gundry (a
leading member of the judiciary, an M.P., and eventually, a knight of the
realm!). Nathaniel died in 1754, so he only had a few years to enjoy the house
and estate. The estate was sold to Edward Greathed in 1795 (not sure by whom),
and the house was remodelled [ as so many were at this time ], in 1810. The
estate must have been extensive, as there are records of 'shoots' on same. The
Greatheds were one of the significant 'military' families of the country -
Edward's son, also called Edward, was a significant figure in the Army of
India, before coming home to command the eastern district of England in the
mid-to-late 1870s. He was eventually knighted (Commander of the Order of the
Bath being conferred in 1858, then knighted within the same order in 1865), and
was also a deputy Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1859. The house
was eventually demolished in 1955.
At the time of the building of the Southampton & Dorchester railway [ which
brought about the building of Uddens Crossing - on the estate? ], the house /
estate was owned by the Greathed (alt.sp. Greathead) family, though it isn't
clear if they were actually living there in 1847. I have found a reference to
it being occupied, presumably rented / leased, to a G. T. Sullivan in 1853. The
house and grounds (heavily wooded, presumably planted) were said to form a
"pleasant contrast with the barren heath beyond." Presumably a
condition of the railway being allowed to intersect the main access to the
estate was that a fully-functioning crossing-box was provided to control
traffic.
I find it interesting that the railway line tends to 'bow away' from the site
of Uddens House - offline from a natural route between West Moors and Wimborne
Minster; was this to take the railway away from the 'home park' of the estate?
However, it could easily be argued that the alignment was simply the easiest
passage taking into account the terrain, also avoiding Colehill &c.