Timeline Calne: 29 October 1863, First train at Calne station

The first train to arrive in Calne was a goods train carrying 100 pigs, along with other goods, such as coal.

The train arrived on the broad gauge track on 29 October 1863 at 8:30am.



Reference:
Herbert, G., 1972. The Calne Branch. Oxford Publishing Co.

Place Names of Calne: Jelly Alley

Jelly Alley is the affectionate name given to the alleyway between what is currently Co-op and Marden Cafe.

The building was constructed in the 1970s and was home to Gateway supermarket, which in the early 1990s rebranded itself as Somerfield, which was subsequently aquired by the Co-op in 2008. Some time between 2002 and 2006, Somerfield took over the rest of the main building, which had previously been Europa News and Crusty Bloomers bakery[a].
Apart from when it has stood vacant, there have been various owners of Marden Cafe in the smaller unit on the other side of the alleyway.

By the late 1970s it seems that someone had thrown cubes of jelly at the ceiling of the alleyway, with others following suit, using the Gateway brand of jelly[1]. This has continued on and off ever since, until July 2018, when Catherine Crofts of the Calne Cleanup Crew posted about an opporunity for artists to help with murals or artwork in Town[2].

After meetings with Calne Town Council came to nothing, the owners of the Co-op building were approached and agreed to a mural in the alleyway. Along with volunteers, Natasha Deacon and Toby Welsby have created an excellent piece of art in an alleyway that was dingy with a ceiling riddled with decades of jelly cubes.

The atmosphere of the alley now matches the sweet name that locals have called it for years.

 

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

References:
Many thanks to Natasha Deacon for the information on the current project.

[a] Experian, 2002 and 2006, Calne, Plan number: 4102AC, Experian GOAD Limited, Welwyn Garden City. Thank you to Caroline Newbury for reminding me of the businesses here.
[1] The Real Shout Out Calne shared a post. - The Real Shout Out Calne | Facebook. 2019. The Real Shout Out Calne shared a post. - The Real Shout Out Calne | Facebook. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/therealshoutoutcalne/posts/2002327213133406?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDW4Vn8XOF4pRK98SAePh-P6mEKAnwCbWZv5fA8SoNvvM7TvwRQdO2ZLzb3W1X4kKABmKZ-bracOkuuINzLBlrqBvPZg2Q5XkIB8fD0MNEn_OamY5INaU3aF9yQILVUjkTKfBtLJbg9TAjARTXsbqU4BNfQDCV_mcpdzGo7fNgBTJu-PUaZN8W07cgCSuf5c3Ivr37OUqJ8BLr07FuwX4IB9Q7P05l67m9mPJXKjwcQvn1Sh8xwheSx3BOUuGV7f3ZOqf0JgN3hg8HAyrY4jP_QhdqOSrY2Hypuiw3IqrqJn1pbWAdAnjbsnqzo6nmH36Dq6Uovc-lG38zrBuYYsQFN2H-3L8XVo31oBVBMdwEjx_4oP-Yr8CZ_DGlET3-zR0bIcssE1NjIq4yWTiY2vDn-Cx_xPbu3MNrVcTg9nMTFZAWr_9oIEicWrZx0R77R90laJzaUwOwRfH1xjvR3Xpla7hb8EYcxlDR4gg_YzCKLQqfl9w&__tn__=-R. [Accessed 25 September 2019]. 
[2] Calne in Photographs public group | Facebook. 2019. Calne in Photographs public group | Facebook. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CalnePhotographs/permalink/445279136062084/. [Accessed 25 September 2019]. 

Timeline Calne: 18 September 1965, Last passenger train

Calne Branch Railway at Calne Heritage Centre.

The last passenger train to run on the Calne branch was the Calne to Chippenham. It carried 142 passengers with a capacity of 262, leaving at 11:20pm. No passengers boarded at Stanley Bridge Halt, however a single passenger boarded at Black Dog Halt, a Mr. Douglas Lovelock, the last fulltime railwayman to be stationed at the Halt.

The driver was Frank Cannon, a railway man of 30 years standing. Railway police were also aboard to ensure safety, while fog detonators were exploded.

Between Calne and Black Dog Halt, 102 fog detonators were exploded - one for each year this branch line had been in operation.

After celebrations, the train that made this journey was put into the passenger sidings at the Chippenham station.

Reference:
Tanner, G., 1972. The Calne Branch. Oxford Publishing Co.

Place names of Calne: Carnegie Road, Carnegie Mews, Carnegie Building

Carnegie Road, Carnegie Mews and Carnegie Building are all named for Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). Born in Scotland and later moving to the US, Carnegie was an industrialist known for founding the Carnegie Steel Company.This lead to very generous philantropic acts, such as the founding of the Carnegie Library.


The Carnegie Library scheme lead to libraries being built around the world, which included 600 in the UK, of which the Carnegie Building on New Road was one.


It was built in 1904, with the foundation stone being laid by the Earl of Kerry in the July of 1904. This fascinating building was first listed as Grade II on 8 July 1976.

The building served as a library from 1905 until 2001 when the library service moved into the new building in the town centre. During the second World War, however, the library was used as a Food Office and for the issue and stamping of Ration Books[1]. Since 2004 the building has served as Calne's Heritage Centre.

Carnegie Mews, which is built next to the old Carnegie Library, was built on what was previously the over-powering Harris Bacon factory. This development, which included Bank Row, was completed in 1995 and opened by Michard Needham, MP on 27 October 1995.

Both Carnegie Mews and Bank Row, were built by  ARC properties, designed by Aaron Evans Associates, with funding from the Housing Corporation by a partnership between the District Council, the Knightsbridge Housing Association and Cowlin Developments. The final development consists of 22 houses, 6 flats and
3 shop units designed as terraces

Carnegie Road is part of the Porte Marsh industrial estate developed in the late 1980s as a response to the loss of the Harris company and now provides a great deal of diverse employment opportunies for the town.

 

To discover more about the place names of Calne, buy the book:

References:
En.wikipedia.org. (2019). Andrew Carnegie. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie [Accessed 18 Mar. 2019].
Calne Heritage Centre 
[1] Boddington, S., 1993. A Source of Price: A Brief History of Calne Library. 1st ed. Wiltshire: Wiltshire County Council Library & Museum Service.

Timeline Calne: July 1978, 'Two Pigs' Sculpture unveiled by Lady Lansdowne

1978
     The story of the pigs begins as Richard Cowdy is asked by Dr. Arnold Hare, the chairman of Calne Civic Society, to produce a sculpture to replace a tree which had been destroyed outside of The White Horse.


July 1979
The full size version of the sculpture took Richard Cowdy 8 weeks.
Michael Hadrell assisted Richard Cowdy to install the sculpture, which was cemented in place.
The cost of the sculpture, £148, to cover the metal, was covered by the Civic Society.
The sculpture was unveiled by Lady Lansdowne, with a speech by Cllr Frederick Eley, the Calne Town Mayor as the time.

 
1/10/2017-2/10/2017
     Calne pigs wrenched off their plinth overnight by use of a vehicle in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
4/10/2017
     The owner of Ronson Reclaim, a reclamation yard in Gloucestershire, called the police to report that he had purchased the pigs before realising the statue was the one stolen from Calne.
6/10/2017
     The statue was picked up by Calne Town Council. Work on the plinth commenced soon after by Calne Council Ground Staff who upgraded the method of fixing the statue to the plinth. The base of the statue was repaired by Andy Blackford of Blackford Engineering free of charge.
10/11/2017
     The Calne Pig statue was back in place and unveiled by Tony Trotman, Mayor of Calne, at 4pm. The unveiling was completed with masses of applause and the pig was climbed upon my multitudes of childen, as he had been so many times in the past. This presentation featured a specially written piece of music performed by Calne Folk and Acoustic Group after the speech by the Mayor.