Woodford Halse - Economic History

Economic History

In 1758 the open field system of farming around Woodford Halse was ended by enclosure. In 1848 Woodford Halse's principal landowners included Sir Henry E.L. Dryden, 7th Baronet and Sir Charles Knightley, 2nd Baronet.

In July 1873 the East and West Junction Railway (later part of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway) was opened through the parish. The line passed just over 1⁄₂ miles (800 m) south of the village but the nearest station on the line was at Byfield almost 2 miles (3 km) away.

On 15 March 1899 the Great Central Main Line from the north of England to London Marylebone was opened through the parish, using the valley of the River Cherwell to pass between Woodford Halse and Hinton. The GCR established a new station called Woodford and Hinton, a four-way railway junction, a major locomotive depot and extensive marshalling yards. A plan to build carriage sheds here was not implemented, but between the old village and the new railway several rows of terraced houses for railway workers were built, together with a street of shops.

The Railway Hotel was built in 1900. By 1973 it had become Woodford Halse Social Club.

The parish's population eventually peaked at just under 2,000, at which time the village had its own cinema. The GCR main line was at times a busy route and the depot and yards at Woodford Halse were very active.

British Railways renamed the station Woodford Halse on 1 November 1948. After the publication of the The Reshaping of British Railways report BR closed the station, the main line and Banbury branch of the former GCR on 5 September 1966. All tracks and most railway buildings were dismantled. The population fell sharply as former railway workers left the parish, but new developments in later decades have since increased it. Where the GCR's line, depot and yards were sited is now a tree plantation and a small modern industrial estate, but evidence of the railway is still visible.