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Apollo Office Park near Banbury

 

 

 

History

The original site of the Wroxton Ironstone Works is of note for being the main stabling point for the locomotives of the former North Oxfordshire Ironstone Company and was regarded as the most complete extant example of an industrial railway locomotive depot in the English Midlands. The Wroxton complex is also the most significant surviving monument to the once mighty Oxfordshire ironstone industry itself; decades of land restoration having removed most traces of the ironstone quarries at both Wroxton and elsewhere.

The North Oxfordshire Ironstone Company was the largest producer of ironstone in the Oxfordshire orefield. The company was established in June 1917 after approaches were made by the Ministry of Munitions, who were keen to increase substantially the production of home ore in the English Midlands. The quarries were connected to the main line railway system via a 3.5-mile industrial railway built by German prisoners of war and the quarries grew to become one of the most important single sources of iron ore in Britain. The Wroxton quarries went into liquidation in September 1967, although some workings were sold off and struggled on until c.1978. The scale and importance of the undertaking is shown by the production figures of 40,000 tons of ore per week in 1965, with a total production of 33 million tons over a fifty-year period.

The 6.65-acre site of the former Ironstone Company's headquarters is located north west of the village of Wroxton. Adjacent to the site’s north west boundary is a local playing field - otherwise the surrounding area is characterised by open farm land.

Planning permission for the 19,000 sq.ft development of office units to form the Apollo Office Park was approved in two stages by Cherwell District Council on 14th October 2004 and 28th April 2005.

View from entrance Direc Office Block
Derelict locomotive Shed Buildings & Site Entrance Locomotive

Sir Thomas: In 1918 Hudswell Clarke supplied two six-coupled tank engines to the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company of Banbury. They were given fleet numbers 1 and 2 and named Sir Thomas and Lord North respectively.

Related Website Link:
www.brc-stockbook.co.uk

   
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