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GWR Publicity Material

History of the Birmingham and North Warwickshire Railway The Doubling of the Stratford-on-Avon Branch
North Warwickshire Line Route Map GWR Publicity

The GWR, as with all the railway companies, extensively promoted places to visit by their railway services and Stratford upon Avon and other areas within Warwickshire were no exception.

SHAKESPEARE LAND

Foreword from 'Great Western Railway ‘Shakespeare Land – The World’s Great travel Shrine' (4th Edition April 1924).

Stratford-on-Avon is universally regarded in the light of a Travel Shrine of world-wide interest and importance. There are very few travellers who arrive in England, either from the United States or our Dominions beyond the seas, who do not hope to visit the birthplace of William Shakespeare on the banks of the winding Avon, and the historic and picturesque country of Warwickshire, before they leave these shores. The homeland of Shakespeare has ever been, and always must be, regarded in the light of a place of pilgrimage by every member of the great Anglo-Saxon race, and it is moreover a scared spot, the key to the gates of which is firmly held by the Great Western Railway. Whether travellers disembark at Plymouth, Liverpool, or Bristol, it is by the Great Western Railway that they will make their journey to Shakespeare’s land at once expeditious, agreeable, and inexpensive.

The same thing may be said when London happens to be the pilgrims starting point and Shakespeare-land is approached through “Beechy Bucks,” amongst the sylvan beauties of which William Penn lies buried. By the aid of the Great Western Railway it is easy for the traveller to combine a pilgrimage to the tomb of Shakespeare with a visit to either Oxford or Bath, both of which places can claim American traditions and associations of the highest interest. It should also be remembered that not far from Shakespeare’s home stands another timbered sixteenth century house, in which, during the later years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, resided Catherine Rogers, the fair daughter of a Stratford alderman, one of William Shakespeare’s contemporaries, who became the wife of John Harvard of Southwark, and whose son, called after his father, eventually gave his name to the famous American University of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shakespeare’s house in Henley Street was acquired in 1847 by public subscription as a national memorial of the poet, and the interesting timbered house close by, now used as a ticket office, was purchased by Mr. Andrew Carnegie and has been vested in the Shakespeare trustees. Pilgrims to Shakespeare-land may, with advantage, carefully study the latest edition of ‘Stratford-on-Avon, from the earliest times to the death of Shakespeare’ the admirable work of Sir Sidney Lee, one of the Shakespeare trustees and the editor of the ‘Dictionary of National Biography’. The unique facilities by rail and motor coach now afforded by the Great Western Railway enable the traveller, whose time is precious, not only to explore within the compass of a very few hours the historic sites and scenes of Stratford-upon-Avon, but to include in his itinerary the mediaeval glories of Warwick and Kenilworth Castles, and Royal Leamington Spa.

A map of the Great Western Railway's Ramble starting at Hatton progressing through Norton Lindsay, Langley, Yarningale Common and returning to Hatton station
Ref: ramble_1
GWR
A map of the GWR's Ramble starting at Hatton progressing through Norton Lindsay returning to Hatton station
A diagram of the various rambling routes and sleeping accommodation identified by the Great Western Railway across Shakespeare-land and the Cotswolds
Ref: ramble_diagram
GWR
A diagram of the various rambling routes and sleeping accommodation identified by the GWR
The GWR's book on rambles together with information on purchasing a holiday season ticket and how to use tickets to arrive at and depart from different stations
Ref: shakespeare_ramble
GWR
The GWR's book together with information on purchasing a holiday season ticket and how to use it to different stations
A typical example of the Great Western Railway's publicity poster campaign of the 1930s advertising tourist locations across its railway network
Ref: soa-poster
GWR
A typical example of the Great Western Railway's publicity poster campaign of the 1930s advertising tourist locations
In 1938 the Great Western Railway issued a twelve page pamphlet containing a series of forty rambles
Ref: publicity1652
GWR
In 1938 the Great Western Railway issued a twelve page pamphlet containing a series of forty rambles

Sample pages showing a range of brief and succient glorious wayside rambles descriptions
Ref: publicity1651
GWR
Sample pages showing a range of brief and succient glorious wayside rambles descriptions
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Ref: publicity1653
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Maxwell Fraser's 1937 joint GWR/LMS guide promoting Stratford and other places to American tourists
Ref: publicity1654
GWR
Maxwell Fraser's 1937 joint GWR/LMS guide promoting Stratford and other places to American tourists

Rambles and Walking Tours in Shakespeare Land and the Cotswolds

The Secretary of the North Finchley Rambling Club, Mr. Hugh E. Page, wrote a series of rambling books for the Great Western Railway to promote recreational walking from locations along the company’s lines. These books were both popular enough and accurately informative to remain in publication for many years after nationalisation. They reflect an era when this burgeoning outdoor leisure pursuit was seen to offer an economic way to appreciate the landscape and also a healthy form of exercise. The books include advice on the rights and responsibilities of walkers and landowners in addition to descriptions and details of the individual walks. The text associated with each of the following images, are short extracts from Rambles and Walking Tours in Shakespeare Land and the Cotswolds by Hugh E. Page. This was the third book in the series published by the Great Western Railway in 1933.

Robert Ferris

History of the Birmingham and North Warwickshire Railway The Doubling of the Stratford-on-Avon Branch
North Warwickshire Line Route Map GWR Publicity