United Counties Buses: A Fleet History, 1921–2014

INTRODUCTION

In its heyday, United Counties Omnibus Company Limited had an operating area covering the counties of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Huntingdonshire, as well as a garage in the north Hertfordshire town of Hitchin. Services reached into neighbouring Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Rutland, with express services between London, Leicester and Nottingham.

The focus of this book is on the vehicles operated by this company, rather than the day to day running. A brief history of the company’s expansion is included within this introduction, with a look at the independent operators acquired by United Counties over the years. Not all of these led to the acquisition of vehicles and, where this did happen, they are listed under the appropriate years later in the book.

Before we start looking at how United Counties expanded over the years, it would be wrong to exclude a brief history of the company’s predecessor, the Wellingborough Motor Omnibus Company Limited (WMOC). WMOC was formed in 1913 and built the foundations of what was to become the United Counties Omnibus and Road Transport Company Limited. Interest in Wellingborough was drawn by Mr William Benjamin Richardson who, prior to 1913, worked for the London Central Motor Omnibus Co. Ltd. The company had a garage in nearby Bedford, from which a driver and conductor would hire a bus and ply for hire in the town. Mr Richardson saw potential in this and had the bus followed to see the response to this service. This led to him sending a bus crew to Wellingborough to operate a service connecting Wellingborough to Finedon, Irthlingborough, Higham Ferrers and Rushden. The success of this initial operation led to a second vehicle being sent to Wellingborough from Bedford. On 3 May 1913, the Wellingborough Motor Omnibus Company Limited was formed, with a head office located at 1 High Street, Wellingborough. By June, the company was operating six buses on circular services. Expansion began in June when a new service was introduced running to Kettering, with a service to Northampton soon following. Construction of a garage facility at Finedon Road, Irthlingborough, started in September 1913 to house eleven vehicles, opening for use in January 1914.

By June 1914, the company was operating six services serving smaller towns and villages in close proximity to Wellingborough, as well as Northampton, Kettering and Desborough. The outbreak of war saw the number of services operated reduced. A small number of vehicles continued to enter service with WMOC over the war period. By the summer of 1919, normal service had resumed on those that had been withdrawn during the war. Expansion by the company saw a need for the garage facility in Irthlingborough to be extended. This took place in August 1919, doubling the size of the garage. 1919 also saw the introduction of route numbers by the company. By 1921, WMOC was operating the following services which were later acquired by United Counties:

1Irthlingborough – Finedon – Wellingborough – Irchester Turn – Rushden

2Wellingborough – Wilby – Earls Barton – Ecton – Northampton

3Rushden – Higham Ferrers – Irthlingborough – Finedon – Burton Latimer – Kettering – Rothwell – Desborough

4Wellingborough – Irchester Turn – Rushden – Higham Ferrers – Stanwick – Raunds

5Finedon – Wellingborough – Irchester Turn – Wollaston

6Kettering – Broughton – Moulton Turn – Northampton

7Wellingborough – Great Harrowden – Little Harrowden – Isham – Kettering – Rothwell - Desborough

The company sought to expand their operations into Kettering and Northampton. For this purpose, land in both towns was purchased. Premises in Northall Street and Upper Field Street, Kettering, were purchased in April 1921, whilst land in Houghton Road, Northampton, was acquired in May 1921. However, WMOC was under-capitalised to support the expansion plans, so a decision was made by the directors to sell the company to the United Counties Omnibus and Road Transport Company Limited, one of the shareholders of WMOC. This took place on 1 September 1921, when the United Counties Omnibus and Road Transport Company was officially formed. The opening fleet stood at a total of thirty-seven omnibuses, and five service vehicles. Two omnibuses were also in construction and were also included in the sale, along with the garage facility in the small town of Irthlingborough. Head office for the company remained at 1 High Street, Wellingborough.

It was not long before a second garage was established, located in Havelock Street, Kettering. Opening on 3 February 1922, it had the capacity to house ten vehicles. The garage was constructed in the grounds of Rockingham House and remained operational for around thirteen years. A third garage commenced construction in June 1922; taking over a year to construct, it opened the following September. It was located on Bedford Road, Northampton, and eventually became the head office and main works for the company. Due to the small capacity of the Kettering garage, a decision was soon taken to establish another garage in nearby Desborough, this opening in 1925 with the capability to hold thirty-two vehicles.

Between 1928 and 1938, United Counties acquired no less than fifty-nine independent operators in Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Buckinghamshire, expanding the operating territory significantly. To simplify these acquisitions, a table lists them below, noting how many vehicles were acquired and the significant towns and villages added to the United Counties operating area. Some of the companies will be explored in more depth after this table.

Out of the above operators, perhaps one of the most important acquisitions in the history of United Counties was that of the Northampton Omnibus Company. It greatly increased the presence of the company in Northampton, in particular in the north, south and west of the town. It extended services out to areas such as Daventry, Weedon, Yardley Hastings and Lavendon. The latter point provided onward journeys to Bedford with the National Omnibus Company. Smaller villages bordering Northampton such as West Haddon, Harlestone, Wootton and Roade were also encompassed.

July 1933 saw the next significant operator taken over. R. Bagshaw & Sons of Kettering allowed United Counties to expand further in the Kettering, Thrapston, Raunds and Wellingborough areas. The main service taken over ran between Irthlingborough, Wellingborough and Northampton.

Later that year, Eastern National transferred the Stony Stratford garage of the Aylesbury Omnibus Co. Limited to the control of United Counties. A number of services in the Stony Stratford area were taken over, expanding the company’s operating area into North Buckinghamshire, this taking place in December 1933. Services centred more on Aylesbury were redistributed between Eastern National, London Transport, Thames Valley and the City of Oxford Motors.

In the same month, United Counties also took control of Allchin & Sons of Northampton. With this acquisition came an extensive network of express services, primarily centring on Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton, London, Coventry, Birmingham and Oxford. Other such services also travelled as far as north Devon, Eastbourne, Brighton, Hastings, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. All services ran through Northampton at some point. A large fleet of thirty-one coaches was acquired from this company to run these services.

An unusual acquisition took place in April 1934 when Eastern Counties took control of the Varsity Express service. As well as a garage at Cambridge, another was established at Oxford which was a distance from the Eastern Counties operating area. United Counties was the nearest Tilling Group company to Oxford, so therefore, the garage was transferred to them. The route ran from Oxford to London via High Wycombe, Uxbridge, Southall and Shepherds Bush. A dedicated garage was established in the city.

Moving north again, the Kettering area operations were expanded further when the company acquired the business of Frost Motors (Kettering) Limited. A principal route running between Burton Latimer and Kettering was operated, as well as numerous work services in the industrial town of Corby, giving United Counties a bigger presence there too.

The final significant operator of the above list to be acquired was J. Meadows & Sons of Barton Seagrave. They operated two Kettering town services along with a circular in Thrapston. In addition to these services, another was operated between Kettering, Thrapston and Huntingdon. The latter town was in the Eastern National operating area. Due to this, the Thrapston circular and Thrapston to Huntingdon area services were transferred across to Eastern National, whilst the Kettering area services were retained. The longer Kettering to Huntingdon service became jointly operated by the two companies.

Thomas Tilling Limited of Westminster acquired the business of United Counties in July 1931. Under the new owners, United Counties continued to flourish, acquiring many more independent operators. Just prior to the takeover by Tilling, United Counties acquired the operations of Wallace and Amy Ayres, Hardingstone, on 19 March. The company operated services along the Northampton, Hardingstone and Wootton corridor. The acquisition of the Blue Fly Service in March 1931 increased the capacity of the Northampton to Market Harborough service. September 1931 saw a garage established in the small village of Welford. This was the former premises of Thomas J. Miller, a small independent which United Counties acquired on 1 September. Two routes were taken over centred on this town, running to Northampton and Market Harborough respectively.

The expansion in the Kettering and Thrapston areas called for the need of a new garaging facility. Located in Northampton Road, Kettering, the new garage was constructed to replace the small facility in the town, and the building was able to house 100 vehicles.

Head office of the United Counties Omnibus Company Limited was transferred from Irthlingborough to Houghton Road, Northampton. On this site, a new office block and garage was constructed, located in close proximity to the Derngate Coach Station.

The ageing garage in Irthlingborough was replaced in 1938 by garages in Wellingborough and Rushden. Construction of the former garage commenced in 1938. Two areas in Rushden were purchased, the first being in Skinners Hill located in the town centre, this housing an open-air parking ground. The second was in Newton Road, Rushden, where a garage building was erected, Both garage buildings opened in November, whilst the Skinners Hill facility opened in August.

1939 saw the outbreak of war, and therefore no operators were acquired between the period of 1939 to 1945. United Counties assisted with the war effort in various ways. Limited to the number of new vehicles that were taken into stock, the fleet began to suffer. This resulted in a large number of vehicles being hired by the company, which will be looked at in later sections.

After the war ended, United Counties slowly began getting back to normal. The first sign of this was the establishment of a small garage in the town of Olney, north Buckinghamshire. This was in the form of a small shed which was used to accommodate two double-decks used on a service between the town and Wellingborough.

Daventry was the next town to see the construction of a small garage. Construction commenced in 1948, several years after the land was purchased. However, it was only built to accommodate four vehicles. The increased presence of United Counties in the town of Corby led to the need for a garage to be built in the town. A site on Station Road, adjacent to the town’s railway station, was acquired, where a small garage was constructed.

After the war, United Counties was trying to save as much money as possible when it came to the operation of certain services in their portfolio. This had already been shown with the purchase of the depot in Olney. The company set out to establish a small garage in the town of Market Harborough, where they were successful in finding accommodation to house a solitary single-deck used on more lightly-trafficked routes in the local area.

The rapid expansion of services in the Corby area called for the expansion of the original garaging facility in the town. A need arose to house ten vehicles in the town, rather than the original four.

The following years remained rather quiet, with no significant goings on to note. One of the most notable events in the history of United Counties, however, was the doubling in size of the fleet on 1 May 1952. This was the date that the Midland area of the Eastern National Omnibus Company Limited was transferred. Eastern National had two operating areas, which were split from each other. The more traditional operating area was centred on Essex. The Midland area had garages in Bedford, Biggleswade, Luton, Huntingdon, Hitchin and Aylesbury. In January 1949, the Tilling Group had lost its interests in the bus industry to the British Transport Commission, which took the decision to transfer the Midland operation from Eastern National to the more logical control of United Counties. The agreement was reached for this transfer in December 1951 and took effect from the above date. This added 247 vehicles to the United Counties fleet.

On a smaller scale, 1952 also saw the acquisition of the business of M. Knight of Northampton. This operator ran a service between Northampton and Brixworth, enhancing United Counties’ existing services on this corridor.

The allocation at the newly acquired Biggleswade garage was enhanced with the takeover of O.A. Bartle of Potton in June 1953. The operations included a number of routes centred on the village, running out to Biggleswade, Bedford, St Neots and Royston, along with a number of school contracts.

The expansion of services in Stony Stratford led to a new, larger garage facility being constructed, replacing the two original garages in the town. Construction commenced in 1954, and the garage opened its doors in July 1955. Staying with garages, the facilities acquired from Eastern National at Biggleswade were in a poor state by the mid-1950s. This led to United Counties demolishing the original buildings over the course of 1956, with new buildings being constructed, along with a new parking area. Construction of these facilities was completed during 1957.

Another small Bedfordshire independent was added to United Counties during 1960. The operations of Keysoe based Keysonian Coaches were acquired in May. With this came three services, operating between Bedford and north Bedfordshire villages, and Keysoe and St Neots.

The small outstation at Long Buckby was closed in January 1960, the work from this depot being redistributed between Northampton and Daventry. Bedford was the recipient of a new bus station in December 1960, built after a redevelopment of the town centre area. Yet another garage was constructed and opened this time at Bletchley. This garage replaced the small outstation at nearby Fenny Stratford.

Next to be acquired was the operations of Pytchley-based Royal Blue Coach & Transport Company. Services were centred on the Kettering area. These were taken over by the company, whilst the tour business was sold to Shelton-Osborn of Wollaston along with eight vehicles.

1968 saw a new garaging facility open in the Lincolnshire town of Stamford. There was a need for this new facility as United Counties was made to vacate the original premises in the town.

Ownership of United Counties changed in 1969 from the British Transport Commission to the newly formed National Bus Company. Under this ownership, the green livery was retained by the vehicles.

Two significant takeovers took place over the course of 1969 and 1970. Firstly, the bus operations of Birch Bros. Limited was acquired on 14 September 1969. Twelve vehicles were acquired and soon repainted into United Counties livery. The vehicles concerned were all allocated to Rushden garage. The second acquisition was of the fleet of Luton Corporation on 4 January 1970. The takeover added a further seventy-seven vehicles to the United Counties fleet, making the company the dominating concern in the town.

1971 saw the construction of the new town of Milton Keynes commence. The developers required United Counties to provide a number of services around the new town. A handful of services were introduced over the coming years, operating from Bletchley and Stony Stratford garages.

Two sites were in operation in Aylesbury, both acquired from Eastern National. The smaller of the two premises, at Walton Street, was required by the local council. In exchange, land adjacent to the Buckingham Street depot was acquired by United Counties, and the site was expanded to accommodate the fleet.

The expansion of the Bletchley fleet called for an extension to the existing garage facility. Land next to the garage was acquired and was subsequently doubled in size during 1973. Corby received a new under-cover bus station in Anne Street on the edge of the town centre during 1973.

The operations and vehicles of Court Line Coaches were purchased by United Counties in 1974. The company operated a small set of services centred on the Luton, Dunstable and Hemel Hempstead areas. The existing garage at Luton Airport was not acquired by United Counties as it was repossessed by the local council. This led to the overcrowding of Castle Street garage, and a temporary arrangement was made with Luton Borough Council to house a number of the vehicles.

In 1975, United Counties acquired a number of services from Yorks Bros. of Cogenhoe, running two services between Northampton and Wollaston, via a number of villages en-route.

Due to the considerable expansion of the Luton fleet, the garage was doubled in size, opening in 1975. The new facilities included a new inspection pit area, as well as an office block and canteen. The new facilities catered well for the sizeable fleet of well over 100 vehicles allocated to Luton at the time.

By 1976, the number of services operated in the new Milton Keynes area had reached twenty. The majority of them were centred on Bletchley, with others serving Stony Stratford and Wolverton. Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre was later opened in 1979 and a large network of services was established to serve this new facility. United Counties also submitted plans for a new garage facility to replace the garages at Bletchley and Stony Stratford.

The long-serving Derngate Coach Station in Northampton was replaced by a new bus station facility in the town centre. The infamous Greyfriars Bus Station was opened on 2 May 1976.

A third town in the United Counties area also received a new bus station in 1976. Luton received a more permanent site at Bute Street, replacing the temporary bus station. It was located next to the town’s Midland Road train station. Like Northampton’s new facility, the bus station was under-cover. Huntingdon followed suit the following year when a modernised bus station was opened in the town; however, this facility was open to the elements.

Major service cuts in the Northamptonshire area in 1978 led to the closure of Daventry garage. A solitary vehicle was still out-stationed within the town. In the same year, Rushden garage was also closed, with the vehicles and services passing to nearby Wellingborough and Kettering garages.

Two further garages closed their doors over the course of 1980 and 1981. First to close was Stamford in 1980, this virtually removing United Counties from the Lincolnshire area. A year later, the Desborough garage was also closed. As well as this, United Counties sold off a lot of properties that they owned during the year.

In 1980, it was the turn of Bedford and Wellingborough garages to be modernised. The former garage had its existing inspection pits enlarged, a new store building was constructed along with a new workshop area. The pit area was expanded, a rolling road being installed. The site was also used as an MOT testing centre for PSVs. The engineering facilities at Wellingborough were also improved. The inspection pits were updated and new fuelling facilities were installed along with a new bus wash.

Work on a new central bus garage commenced in March 1981 in the Winterhill area of Milton Keynes. The new facility was handed over to United Counties two years later. The new facility had the capacity to garage 125 vehicles, instead of the proposed 250. The garage officially opened on 27 May 1983, replacing Stony Stratford and Bletchley garages. A new bus station was also opened in the town close to the railway station.

A decision was made in September 1985 to split United Counties into three operating companies. The United Counties name would be retained for one operating concern, taking control of garages at Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Bedford and Huntingdon. Luton & District was another subsidiary set up to take control of the Luton, Hitchin and Aylesbury garages. The final new company formed was Milton Keynes Citybus. These changes took effect from 1 January 1986, when three different liveries were introduced. The division of the company was done in readiness for the National Bus Company to be sold off to private operators. Dividing the larger companies into