Brill and Ludgershall railway station

Ludgershall is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. It is near the boundary with Oxfordshire, about 5.5 miles (9 km) south-east of Bicester and 5 miles (8 km) west of Waddesdon.

Brill railway station was the terminus of a small railway line in Buckinghamshire, England, known as the Brill Tramway. Built and owned by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, it was later operated by London's Metropolitan Railway, and in 1933 briefly became one of the two north-western termini of the London Underground, despite being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours' travelling time from the City of London. Approximately 3⁄4 of a mile (1.2 of a km) north of Brill, the station was opened in March 1872 as the result of lobbying from local residents and businesses. As the line was cheaply built and ungraded and the locomotives were of poor quality, services were very slow, initially taking 1 hour 45 minutes to traverse the six miles (9.7 km) from Brill to the junction station with main line services at Quainton Road. Although serving a lightly populated area and little-used by passengers, the station was a significant point for freight traffic, particularly as a carrier of milk from the dairy farms of Buckinghamshire to Aylesbury and London. A brickworks was also attached to the station, but it proved unable to compete with nearby rivals and closed within a few years of opening. During the 1890s, plans were made to extend the tramway to Oxford, but the scheme was abandoned. Instead, the operation of the line was taken over by the Metropolitan Railway in 1899, and the line became one of the railway's two north-western termini. It was upgraded and better-quality locomotives were introduced making the journey time three times faster. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway came under public control and became the Metropolitan line of London Transport. The management of London Transport aimed to reduce goods services, and it was felt that there was little chance of the more distant parts of the former Metropolitan Railway ever becoming viable passenger routes. The line was closed on 30 November 1935, and all buildings and infrastructure at Brill associated with the line were sold at auction. Most of the infrastructure was subsequently demolished, though three station cottages survive.

Rushbeds Wood is a 56-hectare (140-acre) nature reserve near Wotton Underwood in Buckinghamshire, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). It is a surviving fragment of the ancient Bernwood Forest. The reserve is part of Rushbeds Wood and Railway Cutting, an 80.2-hectare (198-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. This includes a section of the Chiltern Main Line railway cutting, which runs along the north-east side of the BBOWT reserve.The site is ancient woodland on heavy clay soils which are often waterlogged. The invertebrate fauna are described by Natural England as "exceptional", including over thirty butterfly species, such as the nationally rare black hairstreak and the scarce wood white and purple emperor. The woodland is wet ash and maple, with other trees including elm and hornbeam. The understorey has species indicative of long tree cover, such as Poa nemoralis and wood millet. There are many common breeding birds and in the ponds and ditches there are breeding smooth and great crested newts. The railway cutting is dominated by upright brome grass.There is access to the BBOWT site by a railway bridge at the eastern corner of the site.

Wood Siding railway station was a halt in Bernwood Forest, Buckinghamshire, England. It opened in 1871 as a terminus of a short horse-drawn tramway built to assist the transport of goods from and around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire, as well as connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872, a lobbying campaign by residents of the town of Brill led to the tramway being converted for passenger use and extended a short distance beyond Wood Siding to Brill railway station, becoming known as the Brill Tramway. The railway was cheaply built, ungraded, and used poor quality locomotives; services were very slow, initially limited to a speed of 5 miles per hour (8 km/h). In the 1890s it was planned to extend the tramway to Oxford, but the scheme was abandoned. Instead, the operation of the line was taken over by the Metropolitan Railway in 1899. Between 1908 and 1910 the station was completely rebuilt on a bridge over the newly built Chiltern Main Line of the Great Western Railway, which passed directly beneath the station. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public ownership and became the Metropolitan line of London Transport. As a result, Wood Siding became a station on the London Underground network, despite being over 45 miles (72 km) from the City of London. London Transport's new management aimed to move away from goods services to concentrate on passenger services. As the line served a very lightly populated rural area, the new management believed it very unlikely that it could ever be made viable. Wood Siding was closed, along with the rest of the line, from 30 November 1935. All infrastructure associated with the station was removed in 1936; the remains of the bridge which supported the station are still in place.

Piddington is a village and civil parish about 4.5 miles (7 km) southeast of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. It lies close to the border with Buckinghamshire. Its toponym has been attributed to the Old English Pyda's tun. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 370.

Brill Palace was a medieval English royal residence located in the village of Brill in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire. It was within the jurisdiction of the former Ashendon Hundred. Brill Palace was founded during the Heptarchy and was used by Edward the Confessor. Henry II visited it at least twice, in 1160 and 1162. In 1203, John granted the manor of Brill to Walter Borstard, his chaplain, at the same time naming Borstard keeper of the palace. Henry III was in residence during 1224; he stayed at Missenden Abbey several times while en route to Brill and is recorded as having rewarded the monks for their hospitality with presents of timber. The manor subsequently passed to Hugh de Neville in 1226 and Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall by 1233. In 1252, a hermitage dedicated to Saint Werburgh was established by Henry III, with the condition that the canons of Chetwode, who were responsible for the endowment, should supply chaplains not only for the hermitage but also for the chapel of Brill Palace. During the English Civil War, a royal garrison held the palace from November 1642 to April 1643, repulsing an attack by parliamentary forces under the command of John Hampden.The ruins of the palace were still visible in 1885, and the site remains a scheduled ancient monument.

Brill is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England, close to the border with Oxfordshire. It is about 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Long Crendon and 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Bicester. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish was 1,141. Brill has a royal charter to hold a weekly market, but has not done so for many years.

Muswell Hill is a 0.2-hectare (0.49-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Brill in Buckinghamshire. The local planning authorities are Buckinghamshire County Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council. It is listed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee as a Geological Conservation Review site.This site has sandstones and sandy ironstones. It is problematic as their precise age and the circumstances of deposition are uncertain, but they are thought to be early Cretaceous, with late Jurassic underlying layers. There is considerable potential for further research on dating the transition between the two periods.

Stoke Common is an 83.1-hectare (205-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire. It is registered common land, and it is owned by a charitable trust, with the City of London Corporation as the main funder and trustee.The site is a last remnant of a large heath, and is on glacial gravel over London clay, with some parts permanently waterlogged. Periodic burning helps to manage the land. There are small areas of birch, pine and mixed woodland, with several ponds. There is a rich invertebrate fauna, especially moths, and the dusky cockroach and rare bog bush cricket have also been recorded.There is access from Stoke Common Road and Gerrards Cross Road.

Upper Ray Meadows is a 181-hectare nature reserve, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire. It is composed of a number of areas, one of which, Long Herdon Meadow, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.The site consists of meadows on the floodplain of the River Ray, and it is a stronghold for rare species because heavy clay soils and frequent flooding makes arable farming difficult. The meadows are managed by traditional farming methods, and areas of medieval ridge and furrow still survive. In the summer, drier areas have displays of wild flowers such as black knapweed, meadowsweet and tufted vetch. The site supports a small breeding population of lapwings and curlews, and the Trust has created many new ponds and ditches to assist birds and invertebrates.Gallows Bridge Farm, which only has access to bird hides, is accessed from The Broadway. The Bernwood Jubilee Way between Marsh Gibbon and the A41 road runs along eastern boundary of Long Herdon Meadow, and there is an entrance where the footpath crosses the River Ray. Grange Meadow is accessed from Long Herdon Meadow. Bernwood Jubilee Way crosses the A41 and goes through Leaches Farm.

Long Herdon Meadow is a 4.5-hectare (11-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Marsh Gibbon in Buckinghamshire. It is part of Upper Ray Meadows nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.The site is an alluvial meadow next to the River Ray in the Vale of Aylesbury. It has clay soil and is liable to flooding. A regime of a hay cut followed by cattle grazing, without the use of artificial fertilisers, has resulted in a diverse grassland habitat now rare in England. Herbs include meadow buttercup, lesser knapweed and devil's bit scabious. Ditches and the riverbank provide a permanently wet habitat, encouraging wading birds such as snipe and curlew. Invertebrates include damselflies.There is access from the Bernwood Jubilee Way between Marsh Gibbon and the A41 road, adjacent to the River Ray.

Dorton Spa is a chalybeate spring located between the villages of Dorton and Brill in Buckinghamshire, England, in a grove of trees called "Spa Wood". Chalybeate is defined as "a water or other liquor containing iron", the word's origin is Greek chalyps; chalybos, meaning steel; Chalyps being an ancient nation in Pontus famous for its steel. A nineteenth century chemical dictionary describes the Dorton Spa as the most celebrated chalybeate and from the account "there is nothing in England to compete with it, which is nearly four times as strongly impregnated with iron as Tunbridge waters and almost as powerful as the famed waters of Toplitz, Germany". The discolouration of the turf of Dorton by the iron oxide in its water was generally known by local people for hundreds of years. Little was heard of its medicinal effects apart from some skin disorders that could be cured and the custom of washing mangy dogs and diseased cattle in the water. With some improvements in the area's roads in the late 17th century and increased communication, more people heard of the Dorton waters. The number of people visiting became so great that damage to crops and fences made it necessary to restrain the peasantry to one path and to regulate the supply of water. The well was enclosed and 50–100 gallons were disposed of daily at a fixed price. The proprietor of the Dorton estate, Mr Ricketts of Dorton House, wished to allow public access to the water, so he erected a pump room and baths of an extensive and ornamental manner. This handsome structure, modelled on Greek architecture, was entered by a flight of stone steps and through a semicircular portico supported by nine circular columns with Corinthian capitals. A dome rose above the centre, and the ceiling of the spacious and lofty pump-room was supported by eight columns painted to resemble Sienna marble. Twelve acres (4.9 hectare) of park were laid out, and planted with evergreen and deciduous shrubs, and also a serpentine lake covering an acre. A large opening ceremony took place in 1830. For a short period it gained some celebrity; Dorton Spa had become a fashionable resort. A Grand Fête was held in 1837; other efforts were made to bring the establishment before the public. The fame of Dorton spread and stories of the effects of the waters grew. A man from Oxford with leprosy for more than 20 years was cured by the water. A woman of Buckingham, with scrofula was cured within six weeks. An elderly resident from Tetsworth who had been unable to walk, received great benefit in a case of a bleeding cancer; after treatment with the water he walked a considerable distance. Cures were also cited for hysteria, indigestion, bilious affections, worms, haemorrhages, rheumatism, fevers, ague, St Vitus's dance, dropsy, herpes, ulcers, abscesses, general nervous diseases, a host of skin disorders, and even total blindness. A depot or agency office was opened in London for the sale of the water. The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has a label from a bottle of Dorton water. A surgeon who lived in nearby Oakley wrote a book which discussed and praised the Spa.Grandiose schemes were proposed showing ten separate baths, two ballrooms, a reading room and a billiard room. Whether all these schemes were completed is subject to conjecture. A hotel in Brill was also built, the Spa Hotel, overlooking the spa to accommodate the visitors. (The hotel was pulled down after damage sustained by a German doodle-bug exploding nearby in World War II). But in 1841 the new Queen Victoria did not come to Dorton. Because of Royal patronage, Tunbridge Wells became "Royal Tunbridge Wells", and Leamington Spa became "Royal Leamington Spa". Dorton missed out: its isolated situation made it impossible to obtain popularity; the sanguine expectations of the promoters were not realised. All that remains is a small circular brick well building with a curved wooden door which is hidden within privately owned "iron fenced" Spa Wood. Parts of the original columns can also be found within the wood.