NO names to this query," wrote an anonymous reader from Astley Bridge. "It may be a pub wind up."
Subject: The disused Oaks Station at Bradshaw.
Theory: It was built and maintained by "Lord Ashworth, of Oaks Hall and New Eagley Mills fame".
Why: Lord Ashworth did not want to pony and trap it to Trinity Street or Bromley Cross stations on his many Manchester business trips. The Oaks was built 300-400 yards from his house, and if he wanted to catch or disembark, the train would stop for him.
But: The station was built in the middle of nowhere, apart from Oaks Farm and Oaks Hall.
So what is the truth to this possible "pub wind up." To find out, I contacted Mr Jim Francis, of the Turton Local History Society, and his answers are quite straightforward.
a) There was no "Lord" Ashworth.
b) The Oaks Station was built and maintained by the railway company.
c) The station could have been used by New Eagley Mill workers, but the majority came from walking distances of Bradshaw, Harwood, etc.
d) The railway was completed in 1849, but Henry Ashworth had severed his connections with the railway company in 1848.
Mr Francis goes on: "The area is historically known as the Oaks, and the two 18th century farms were called Little Oak and Great Oak - Oaks Lane being their occupation road, later requiring the level crossing when the railway was built.
"Henry Ashworth took over New Eagley Mill from his father John in 1818, building his residence, The Oaks, on the other side of Eagley Brook in the Oaks area of Turton Township.
"The Blackburn, Darwen and Bolton Railway Act was approved on June 30, 1845, and among the subscribers towards the necessary capital were Henry Ashworth, his partner and brother Edmund, and father John. The directors appointed by the Act included Henry Ashworth and James Hardcastle of Bradshaw Hall Bleachworks.
"The Act did not specify the station locations, but no doubt all the Directors made their opinions known to the Chief Engineer of the line, but being a commercial concern, the layout of the system needed to be justified on potential traffic.
"All the land through which the railway ran had to be purchased by the railway company, and in the case of the Ashworth land of nine acres, Henry Ashworth claimed £6,492, but after arbitration, was awarded only £4,100. Upset by this, Henry Ashworth, the then Deputy Chairman of the railway company, immediately resigned his Directorship and sold his shares.
"It may be significant that no direct vehicular road was built to connect New Eagley Mill with Oaks Station - only a footbridge ran over Eagley Brook.
"Traffic must have been healthy, because sidings and buildings appear on later maps. We have a photograph from about 1910 showing a staff of four at Oaks Station, so traffic in goods and passengers must have been good, coming from Bradshaw, Tonge, Harwood and district. The station was closed in 1950."
So there you are, anonymous reader, the story of Oaks Station, not much of it agreeing with your theory. As Mr Francis writes: "I think the comments you received sound a bit like a pub discussion gone wild (about 11pm)." And I am personally well aware from my own experience how that can happen . . .
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