On 2 Apr 2009, at 12:14, [email protected] wrote: > Incidentally it appears that while 'Dudden' is used for the local > place name, 'Dudding' has always been the version used by the > railway. (There have been a few similar cases of 'railway > spellings' including the former railway station of 'Fulbourne', > located in what the post office, Ordnance Survey and most other > folks refer to as the village of 'Fulbourn'. This has led to > speculation that, given that the GU narrow boat of the same name > follows the railway spelling, perhaps the names for the GU 'Town > Class' boats were actually chosen from a list of stations in a > Bradshaws railway guide.)
The railways were happy to adjust geography as well as spelling for their convenience. Researching transport arrangements for a spot of weekending along the K&A revealed that the station just handy for Woolhampton Lock is called Midgham, although it's well over a mile from Midgham village [and lock]. It seems that the GWR didn't want a station name that sounded so similar to 'Wolverhampton'. Wherever that is. Baz
