The Sprat and Winkle Line was the common name of the Andover to Redbridge railway line which ran between

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

and Redbridge in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. In the

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

area it joined, and then left, the

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

line. It was built by the Andover and Redbridge Railway, which was incorporated in 1858. In 1863 the uncompleted railway was taken over by the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

(LSWR), which opened the line in 1865. The line had been conceived as part of a trunk route from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

to Southampton, but when the

Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...

opened, the anticipated long distance traffic was disappointing. The M&SWJR line closed in 1961 and the Andover line was unable to survive on purely local traffic. The part from Andover to Romsey (Kimbridge Junction) closed to passengers in 1964, and completely in 1967. The section from Romsey to Redbridge had become part of the line from

to Southampton; it remains in use at the present day.

History

False starts

The

Andover Canal The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran from Andover to Redbridge through Stockbridge and Romsey. The canal had a fall of through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the River Anton and River Test. It o ...

was fully completed in 1794, running from near Andover to Redbridge. It never paid a dividend.Charles Hadfield, "The Canals of Southern England", Phoenix House Limited, London, 1955, page 85 A writer commented that "traffic carried on by means of this canal is very trifling".Robert Mudie, ''Hampshire: Its Past and Present Condition, and Future Prospects: volume 1'', Winchester, 1838, page 228 Southampton was an important international port, and a railway connection from Manchester was proposed by promoters of the Manchester and Southampton Railway in 1845. It would run through Andover and they agreed to buy the Andover Canal for £30,000, to use its route.Hadfield, pages 281 and 282 The LSWR's line was from London to Southampton, with a branch line from

Bishopstoke Bishopstoke, a village recorded in the Domesday Book, is a civil parish in the borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. Bishopstoke was also mentioned when King Alfred the Great's grandson King Eadred, granted land at "Stohes" to Thegn Aelfric ...

(later named

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

) to

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

. Already in 1846 the allied

Southampton and Dorchester Railway The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received Parliamentary au ...

was being promoted, extending westward from Southampton. In 1846 the LSWR proposed a branch line from Redbridge (on the unbuilt Dorchester line) to Romsey, also using the bed of the Andover Canal. During the Parliamentary process for authorisation, this was turned down by a Commons Committee in favour of the Manchester and Southampton Railway scheme, which would cover similar ground around Romsey but had much greater strategic significance. However in subsequent hearings in the Lords Committee, the Manchester scheme was also rejected.R A Williams, ''The London and South Western Railway: volume 1: The Formative Years'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1968, ISBN 0 7134 4188 X, pages 186 to 188

Authorisation and opening

After the Parliamentary battle the LSWR came to an agreement with the Manchester directors: the Manchester line would stop at Andover, and the LSWR would build the line from Andover to Southampton. The Manchester company would have unrestricted access over the LSWR line. On 2 July 1847 the London and South Western Railway obtained powers to build the line, but in fact the financial collapse following the

Railway Mania Railway Mania was an instance of a stock market bubble in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the 1840s. It followed a common pattern: as the price of railway shares increased, speculators invested more money, which further incre ...

resulted in complete inability to start the construction.John Moreton, ''The Andover and Redbridge Railway'', in the Railway Magazine, January 1910, pages 52 to 59 Because of its importance as a port, Southampton continued to be an objective for other lines. The continuing decline in the profitability pf the canal led to tis proprietors forming a proposed Andover Canal Railway company, later changed to the Andover and Redbridge Railway Company. This was done with the connivance of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

and it was assumed that the line would be broad gauge, and might connect to the GWR at Pewsey. A tussle followed between the LSWR and the GWR, but finally the LSWR took possession, and the line would be narrow (standard) gauge.E T MacDermot, ''History of the Great Western Railway: volume I: 1833 – 1863'', published by The Great Western Railway, London, 1927, pages 446 and 447 On 12 July 1858 the Andover and Redbridge Railway was authorised by Parliament.Williams, volume 1, pages 188 to 190 Stockbridge station

The Prime Minister,

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, cut the first

sod Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

on 28 September 1859, accompanied by an eleven gun salute; Palmerston had an estate at

Broadlands Broadlands is an English country house, located in the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Romsey Extra, near the town of Romsey in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The formal gardens and historic landscape of Broadlands ...

, near Romsey.From Moreton; other writers give slightly different dates and a different number of guns. The A&RR went on to propose an extension from Redbridge to Southampton Royal Docks. However actually securing the necessary share subscriptions proved extremely difficult, and several successive Acts of Parliament extended the time limit for completion of the construction, and permitted the cancellation of forfeited shares. This situation dragged on and the LSWR with mutually hostile proposals, until the LSWR acquired the local company, by Act of 29 June 1863, absorbing it and converting the authorised track gauge to the narrow (standard) gauge. The LSWR adopted the debts of the Andover company and guaranteed a 3% annuity on the outlays already made. Now that the Andover line was no longer to be broad gauge, it could use the existing Salisbury line between Kimbridge Junction and Romsey.Williams, volume 1, pages 191 and 192Donald J Grant, ''Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain'', Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, ISBN 978 1785893 537, page 13Ernest F Carter, ''An Historical Geography of the Railways of the British Isles'', Cassell, London, 1959, pages 290 and 291 The line was opened on 6 March 1865 as a single line. There were four trains each way daily, one of which was mixed passenger and goods; there was an additional Southampton to Romsey trip. There was one passenger train each way on Sundays. The trains called at all stations, taking 90 minutes for the 28 miles journey; the mixed trains took two hours. The line had been built closely following the route of the canal, which included many extremely tight curves; but the alignment of the route was eased by alignment works associated with the provision of double track, completed in November 1885. Sprat and winkle fullerton bridge

Neighbouring lines

Also in 1885 a new line, the

Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line The Fullerton Junction to Hurstbourne Line was a 6-mile railway line which ran between Fullerton Junction and Hurstbourne in Hampshire, UK. It was also known as the Longparish Branch and by the nickname of Nile Valley Railway. The passenger se ...

from Hurstbourne Junction, on the main line from

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

to Andover, to Fullerton was opened. Although really of purely local significance, this enabled diversion of trains bound for Southampton away from the congested route via Eastleigh.R A Williams, ''The London and South Western Railway: volume 2: Growth and Consolidation'', David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, ISBN 0 7153 5940 1, page 194 The completion of the Midland and South Western Junction Railway to Andover in 1891The connection at Andover had been made earlier, but 1891 is the first date when the northern connection was complete. enabled the final realisation of the original Manchester and Southampton Railway objective, of enabling through journeys from northern towns and cities to Southampton.

Proposed north to west curve at Redbridge

On the map attached to Moreton's article, a dotted line is marked, showing a north to west curve at Redbridge, which would have enabled direct running from Romsey towards Brockenhurst. It is marked "proposed loop". There is nothing in Moreton's text about this and it was never made.

1895 timetable

The 1895 Bradshaw timetable shows five ordinary trains each way on weekdays and two on Sundays. These appear to run to Southampton Docks via Redbridge. (The Bradshaw public timetables are often ambiguous about whether journeys are through or by connecting train.) In addition there are on weekdays limited stop trains at 14:06 from Southampton and 17:15 from Andover Junction. These are daily through trains between

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and Southampton, running over the M&SWJR line and designated South Express and North Express respectively. On Saturday mornings there is an American and Cape Lines Express, at 02:05 from Derby, 07:17 from Andover Junction, and non-stop from there to Southampton West End. At Derby it appears to connect out of an Up overnight "Scotch Express" but it is not clear if there are through coaches.''Bradshaw's Rail Times for Great Britain and Ireland: December 1895'', facsimile edition, Middelton Press, Midhurst, 2011, ISBN 978 1 908174 11 6, page 69

Traffic in the 1960s

White, writing in 1961, described the traffic pattern:

The market town of Romsey, at the crossroads of the Eastleigh-Salisbury and Southampton-Andover lines, has a population of 6,300 and is the only place of any consequence between the Southampton and the West of England trunk lines… Because of the growth of traffic, local and through, in the area between
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and Salisbury, and because of the need to call at Southampton Central, a frequent service is supplied via
Netley Netley, officially referred to as Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the Ro ...
, Southampton and Redbridge to Romsey and thence to Salisbury. And instead of continuing to Salisbury as was once the case, the trains running via Eastleigh now mainly run beside the pretty
River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. Below the village o ...
with its thatched fishermen’s huts, to Andover and Andover Junction. Romsey station has become very busy since all local services were dieselized in 1958-9 and substantially increased; in addition there are through steam-hauled services from
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and Portsmouth which travel via Southampton and Romsey to Salisbury, on their way to
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, Bristol or South Wales. Through freight traffic, including coal, is also heavy between Salisbury and Southampton.H P White, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume II: Southern England'', Phoenix House, London, 1961, page 140

Decline and closure

The line remained rural in nature, and the Midland and South Western Junction line never developed as a busy trunk route, closing in 1961. The A&R line had only the residual local traffic from small communities, and the Andover to Romsey (Kimbridge Junction) section closed in September 1964. The section from Romsey to Redbridge remains in use, now carrying the Southampton to Salisbury traffic, although Nursling station has been closed.

Later use

Much of the route between

Chilbolton Chilbolton is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, near to Stockbridge. It is situated north of Southampton and south of Andover. Its most notable feature is the Chilbolton Observatory situated on the disused RAF Chilbolton airfie ...

and

Kimbridge Kimbridge is a small village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Romsey, which lies approximately 4 miles (6.3 km) south-east. Originally called "King's Bridge" in Civil War times. Accordin ...

is now used by the

Test Way The Test Way is a http://documents.hants.gov.uk/countryside/walks/TestWayleaflet.pdf long-distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill in West Berkshire to Eling in Hampshire, which follows much of the course of the River Test. The northern ...

long-distance footpath, and is also part of the

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United Kin ...

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

.''Test Way Walk'' on the Visit Hants Website at https://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/things-to-do/the-test-way-walk-p1570951''Sustrans Route 246'' on Sustrans website at https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-246

Possible origins of the name

Two suggested origins for the name of the line have been put forward. One is that the southern part of the line ran close to the mud flats of the

River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. Below the village o ...

where the winkle may be found but it is unlikely that the

sprat Sprat is the common name applied to a group of forage fish belonging to the genus ''Sprattus'' in the family Clupeidae. The term also is applied to a number of other small sprat-like forage fish (''Clupeoides'', ''Clupeonella'', '' Corica'', ' ...

is found there. The second possible origin of the name may be after the

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

that was carried from Southampton to Andover.

Topography

Gradients

The line generally runs on easy gradients throughout, in the valley of the River Test. There is a short fall at 1 in 62 and 1 in 81 at Andover from the junction to the Town station.

Locations

* Andover Junction; LSWR station; opened 3 July 1854; renamed Andover Junction 6 March 1865; renamed Andover 7 September 1964; still open; * Andover Town; opened 6 March 1865; closed 7 September 1964; * Clatford; opened 6 March 1865; closed 7 September 1964; * Fullerton Bridge; opened 6 March 1865; closed 2 February 1885; * Fullerton; new station ready for Hurstbourne line, opened 2 February 1885; renamed Fullerton Junction from 1889; renamed Fullerton 7 July 1929; closed 7 September 1964; * Stockbridge; opened 6 March 1865; closed 7 September 1964; * Horsebridge; opened 6 March 1865; closed 7 September 1964; * Mottisfont; opened 6 March 1865; closed 7 September 1964; * ''Kimbridge Junction''; convergence of Salisbury line; * Romsey; opened 1 March 1847; still open; divergence of Bishopstoke (Eastleigh) line; * Nursling; opened 19 November 1883; closed 16 September 1957; * Redbridge.M E Quick, ''Railway Passenger Stations in England, Wales and Scotland: A Chronology'', version 5.04, September 2022, Railway and Canal Historical Society, electronic download