Page 25 - Oundle Life March 2025

GLANCE
AT THE
PAST
Eric Franklin looks back
Amongst my old pictures of Thrapston and
area, many show motorised vehicles of varying
ages. For the transport buffs, this month’s
“Glance” is a selection, all either steam or
petrol driven, from pre-1952 when before
setting off, a lot more effort was needed to start
up than with today’s vehicles.
This postcard (top right) of the
Fitzwilliam Hunt in the Market Square
in about 1905 includes, at the front
right, an early motor car which stands
out as something new amongst many
horses and carts. A good crowd has
turned out to watch the hunt which
is about to depart from outside the
premises of the Northampton Brewery
Company. To the left of the picture is part of
the White Hart Hotel which served Midland
Road Railway Station. Whereas the Brewery
Company building remains in town as a
hairdresser’s shop, the White Hart is long gone.
The second picture is of William Boulton’s
This traction engine (top left), made by the
Steam Cart & Motor Company in 1935 was
owned by William Bolton. He was a timber
merchant who, with many other local businesses
such as coal merchants, blacksmiths and
For many
years the
Nene Valley
has been a
rich resource
of minerals
sawyers, maintained his business at Thrapston
wharf, where he stored both this vehicle and his
stock of timber.
The Thrapston Washed Sand & Ballast
Company extracted materials from the gravel
pits. Their brand-new side-tipping Sentinel
Steam Lorry No 6 is shown (above
right), apparently having just been
delivered in, I believe, the early 1930’s.
For many years the Nene Valley has
been a rich resource of minerals. When
we moved into town in 1982 gravel was
still being extracted and transported
to the washing and grading plant near
the Nine Arch Bridge on an unguarded
conveyor belt from the far end of what
is now Thrapston Lake. Regrettably, I never did
take a photograph of the belt. If anyone has one,
I would be very pleased to receive a copy.
One of the more intriguing old postcards I
have is this undated one produced by Albert
Smith Ltd from Jersey (shown over the page, top
left). Written on the back it states that this is a
view of a Charabanc trip from Thrapston. The
only other detail is that the first man standing
on the left is George Savage. George owned
a grocery store on Market Road, a picture of
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