AS men and machines make their way across the old railway goods yard, above the Churchill Way West road, to build another residential area in Basingstoke, let us look back at the history of that area of the town.

The goods yard was part of a complete transformation of the railway station just over a century ago.

Major rebuilding of the station was approved by the London and South Western Railway board in 1900, although some land nearby was acquired a few years earlier.

When the goods yard was put down on paper in its early planning stages, the problem as to where to build it caused the local folk some worry.

Eventually it was decided to place it across the Brewery Meadow and part of the Parsonage Field, at the rear of May’s Brewery, which stood in Brook Street in those days. Several houses in Chapel Street had to be demolished for the entrance into the goods yard, but the residents were compensated for this inconvenience.

Two goods yards were built. A small one was placed on the north side for interchange traffic with the Great Western Railway (which went to Reading), and a much larger one for the main lines belonging to the London and South Western Railway. A goods depot and a shed with five bays was also built, while, close-by, a turn-table was fitted into the ground.

The goods depot was about 180 feet long and stood close to the embankment overlooking what was then May Street, while a row of cattle pens 300 feet long was even closer to the edge. The whole area was brought into operation by 1904.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, additional sidings were laid for extra accommodation for goods trains, which were brought up from Southampton when the Germans were bombing the city.

Although Basingstoke was hit by bombs in late 1940, the railway escaped any damage. The war also saw the removal of the cattle pens to allow loading ramps to be built for tanks to be placed onto special wagon trains.

After the war the goods yard became more commercialised, and large local firms such as Thornycroft’s, Eli Lilly and Lansing Bagnall made full use of the yard to transport their goods.

The yard contained several companies, including three coal and coke merchants and a petroleum depot. Close-by was a corn merchants, a railway goods office and a railway social club.

The latter had to keep its prices low as two public houses, The Cricketers and The Rising Sun, were just yards away!

The goods office was kept busy in the 1960s with further firms moving into the town under the Town Development Scheme.

The goods agent, Mr E W Ebden, was assisted by 42 staff in his work in dealing with the transfer of freight from trains to lorries. Twelve vehicles were used to collect and deliver goods from the yard.

As road haulage firms began to take over the transportation of goods across the country, so the railways realised that this side of their business was declining.

The decision was made to clear the Basingstoke goods yard of most of its tracks in 1984 and part of the land was acquired for the construction of the Provident Life Assurance offices, close to Chapel Street, which were completed in the following year. The road leading to the building was called Provident Way, then when the firm’s name was changed to Winterthur Life, so the road name was changed to the same title in 1995.

In 1987, Network South East held a “Railshow” in the old goods yard’s remaining site, which gave the public the chance to see a selection of locomotives, vehicles and various displays connected with the railway, to celebrate the completion of a £1million refurbishment of the railway station.

The show, in September that year, was a great success and attracted large crowds.

Now the old goods yard is being transformed into a residential area with 484 one and two-bedroomed units.

For those living near the embankment, they will surely have one of the best views across the town.