The Blandford Express

  It may not be the real reason why cider making has been more of a past time in West rather than North Dorset. But in March 1841, 58year-old Christopher Hill of Pimperne, near Blandford took a swig of his locally  produced cider. He was not aware that his tankard, filled with the ‘wine of the apple’, contained a bee. While he was downing his drink the bee stung him in the throat. Christopher Hill sadly died soon afterwards. West Dorset has a long history of cider making. However in comparison with Somerset and Devon, cider production has never really taken off here on a commercial scale. There has never been an industrial scale producer like Coates  of Nailea, Somerset or Whiteways Cyder  of Whimple, Devon. (There are the two ways to spell cider/cyder and some say using ‘y’ is the more traditional spelling. Author Thomas Hardy sat on the fence and used both spellings.) According to the National Fruit & Cider Institute cider making came to England from Normandy a...

Powerstock Station’s great train robbery took place on April 14th 1858 at a time when the station master was away at Sunday morning church. Powerstock Station was on the railway branch line which connected Bridport with Maiden Newton and it served both the  villages of Powerstock and Nettlecombe. The station consisted of a single platform, a siding and a bungalow style building.   This meant that it could be used as a dwelling if the station became unviable. The station had opened in 1857 and until around 1862 was known as Poorstock. The  Bridport News  of Saturday 24 April 1858 reported that the plunderers effected their entrance by breaking a window. Fortunately there was little cash to be found in Powerstock Station at the time and the burglars escaped only with coppers to the amount of one shilling (5p) or just one shilling and sixpence (7.5p). No clue was found as to the identity of the depredators so the case of the Great Powerstock Station Robbery still remain...

Opened in November 1857, the stations on this line were: Bridport West Bay . Opened 31-3-1884: closed to passengers 22-9-1930: closed to freight 3-12-1962. Bridport (East Street ). Opened 31-3-1884: closed to passengers 22-9-1930. Passenger station only. Bridport (from 1887-1902 was known as Bradpole Road ). Opened 12-11-1857: closed to freight 5-4-1965: closed to passengers 5-5-1975. Powerstock . Opened 12-11-1857: closed to freight 13-3-1961: closed to passengers 5-5-1975. Toller . Opened 13-3-1862: closed to freight 4-4-1960: closed to passengers 5-5-75. Maiden Newton. Opened 20-1-1857: closed to freight 5-4-1965.  (Featured: Bridport Station in August 1954..)