 Hello, thank you for joining me. I'm in Tesco's car park in George Cross today and in today's video We're going to look at the history of George Cross. We're going to start with the most modern history and we're going to work back So probably the most modern building in George Cross. It's not that exciting But it's that block of flats and it's just been finished and it's it replaced the 1960s office block but here Tesco's car park has a rather interesting story because where I am now or probably about where The road between the spaces is directly down there is the Chilton mainline and Approximately somewhere here and there was a rather serious incident This used to be a cutting and they wanted to build a Tesco's in George Cross But there was nowhere to build it So the idea was they would create a tunnel and fill in the cutting and that's what they've done But they put too much gravel on one side and the tunnel collapsed about about here It was it collapsed and so the Chilton mainline was blocked for about six weeks And I remember the next day Duke of Gloucester was due to pass through the steam locomotive Duke of Gloucester was due to work a rail-tour up this way and And it meant I couldn't it had to be diverted Now I couldn't just jump on my bike and go to Slough and see it like I could hear none of my parents were available To take me see it so I rang up my granddad and said granddad Do you think you could take me to Slough see Duke Gloucester? So he said yeah, all right I wouldn't mind go and see that so we went to see Duke of Gloucester at Slough Now here's a picture and then on the way back He dropped me off here at Jarge Cross and I stood on there is a road bridge just over there behind the car park And I had a look at the damaged Tunnel so here's a picture now and then I walked home So the line was blocked for six weeks, but eventually they'd already started constructing the Tesco's supermarket they had to take it all down they had to And dig up all the gravel again expose the tunnel that the concrete segments of the tunnel checked them a few of them had to be taken out And replaced and then they kind of pretty much started again And eventually the Tesco's opened with no trouble what we're going to do now the walk on past the front the Tesco's and We'll go and I'll show you the town centre and the railway station So I've now come around the front of the Tesco I'm still standing directly above the tilt main line. This is Packhurst road domain shopping street in Jarge Cross And what I'm gonna do while the lights are red. I'm gonna run across and So there would have been just a simple, you know road bridge brick road bridge over the railway and somewhere the remains of it Are in there so they filled in on that side to make a tunnel what I'm standing on now is also Filled in if you look over there You can just see where the tracks emerge from the mouth and there is Jarge Cross station So here we are. It's rather nice actually with the flowers Jarge Cross Town centre. Jarge Cross has a population of about 8,000 people So, you know, it's not a huge place, but it's some very present place now What we're gonna do and the leaf test goes behind and we're gonna go down here Station approach now. I remember Somewhere around here. There should be some really nice little shops that you had kind of it was about four or five of them Individual little buildings are very small, but they lined the edge of Station approach and they were really, you know, quite cute little shops As we're gonna come down here now, I'm gonna be able to show you the mouth of the tunnel So, um, let's just go along here And you see it there we go. That is the mouth of the Tesco value tunnel And look in the other way a train has just pulled into the station now when the tunnel collapsed It was noticed by a driver in that position there He had stopped here of his train going to London Marrow and he suddenly looked into the tunnel as he approached the tunnels clear Glanced away when he looked about to go the tunnel was blocked So he immediately phoned the signalman and said the tunnels blocked stop the train coming the other way And the train coming out of London made an emergency stop just north of Denham golf club So thankfully no one was injured when the tunnel collapsed. So when the tunnel is just There so let's wait and see the the train depart in the meantime What I'll tell you about is how do you speak for tracks? So that grassy area down there on this side of the platform That would have been a track and where the platform is that would have been the other tracks There have been four tracks through here there goes Was it one six five oh three three on the way to London don't need to take this one off in my books I've seen all the one six fives quite a long time ago I think in about two thousand and three two thousand and four I saw my last one of these So as the train goes off to London, let's go and explore a bit more of George Cross So before the railway the railway opened in 1906 it was known as the final link there was already a railway to High Wickham Which went up from Maidenhead and then unfortunately they closed the section between Maidenhead and Bourne End They opened this section here and it opened on the 2nd of April 1906 and in 2006 They ran some steam specials with Leander the Jubilee and AF 45 No 48151 sorry, and it wasn't the first mainline steam. I ever went on. I'll put some pictures in now So I'm gonna leave the railway station now I'm gonna take you for a walk up this path and as we go I'm gonna tell you a little bit about George Cross before the railway. So as I said the railway opened in 1906 George Cross first came to exist in 1859 what they did they took areas of the parishes of Charleston Peter former and Stoke Poges and they created George Cross and they named it after the Gerard family who Had a manor somewhere in George Cross. If anyone knows exactly where Please do comment and tell me I mean I gather it doesn't exist anymore, but be interesting to know Exactly where it was also the area before that though was referred to as Gerard's Cross built with a J on screen now And that was named after a highwayman who would rob people Travelling through the area probably on the A40, which is the London's Fish Guard Road, which we shall come to quite soon I'm now gonna walk on down here I'm gonna go down another footpath and I'm gonna take you to one of my favorite places in George Cross So I'm now coming down this footpath to one of my favorite places in George Cross We've already talked a little bit about the railway. So let's just have a bit more railway It's this footbridge here. It's known as the iron bridge I've always enjoyed coming here ever since I was a child. I used to come here sometimes when I was little to see Mainline steam trains So I can say I've seen a king class locomotive pass through George Cross from that bridge and You know that that's probably how my interest in railways really developed from coming here to this You know what is such a good vantage point the bridges aren't too high You know some modern bridge you can't see over and when you're a child You know you can be down here and you can look nicely through and see the train So this is the iron bridge in George Cross over to your main line now. You can see there's a siding down there That's the turnback trains. There is a service from London Maribor and the train turns back here But what happened when they built the Tesco tunnel all of the Aggregate for filling in the tunnel came by train and what they did The a good strain top and tail will come into this siding along where those lamps are they actually built a broad gauge Railway with a crane. So although this was never GWR broad gauge It was actually a broad gauge traveling crane and it used to grab The aggregates out of the wagons and it would put them onto a conveyor belt and the conveyor belt would run all the way along here all along the edge of the car park and up over station approach and Then it would go under the road bridge and that was how they filled up the area around the tunnel I'm gonna now take you to an earlier part of George Cross. We're gonna go and see what George Cross was like Before the railway. I'm gonna carry on walking down this public footpath So here we are in a much quieter More peaceful part of George Cross. I've come to the pond now This is really what would have been here before the railway just over there is the ball hotel On the main London to Fishguard Road now known as the A14 That's what I said Jared the highwayman probably, you know would have robbed people but this is really all George Cross would have been just a few houses around the pond and Over there you can see the woods. That's George Cross Commons. What we're gonna do We're gonna go and have a walk through the woods and we're gonna go and find some James's church, which and also predates the railway, so This is one of the nicest places. I think in George Cross's pond. It's just really nice and peaceful and here's some of the nicer You know older houses the houses that are older than the railway because not many buildings in George Cross are older than the Railway, I'm gonna now head off into the woods and find another pond So here we are in the woods of George Cross common really has the feeling like I'm really deep somewhere in the countryside But we are actually surrounded by urban area all the time. Well, that's the George Cross isn't Particularly large town. It's only 8,000 it's you know, it's quite a spread-out town and here is the other pond I said about in the woods on the other side of the pond though Is the a 40 the London to Fishguard Road? So that runs along there So no doubt before the railway has it been just like a small road, you know with Horses and carts going along the pond would have been here. The horses would have probably stopped here to drink water And then there's been the ball hotel, which would have been like a coaching in So yeah, here we are the other pond on George Cross Commons I'm now gonna carry on walking through the woods to show you why It's called George Cross. I've said where the Gerrard's comes from haven't yet told you where the cross comes from So I'm gonna carry on through the woods to find that for you So as I come to the edge of one half of the woods on George Cross Common this road the Windsor Road Goes right through the middle of the common and then there's another probably about the same size Amount of woods on this side now have a look here. Got a road sign Stoke podium straight on Denham that way Beckinsfield that way this what we're coming up to now is The cross of George Cross is where two main roads cross It's so we've got the Windsor Road going that way and the London to Fishguard Road going across So it's not that exciting now, but it kind of it's the cross of George Cross So when I thought you know, I had to show that to you what I'm gonna do now I'm gonna go back into the woods and So that's walk along by the main road and I'm gonna go and find the parish church So I can show you George Cross is parish church. So here we are. This is the cross of George Cross There's also an old Water pump just there, but I'm gonna head back Into the woods So as I continue walking through the woods looking for the church I feel now just how deep we are in the woods. Although like I said We are surrounded by roads and urban areas. Also found another little pond. It's just so peaceful Listen to the birds. That's just how what I hear and you know, it's it's just really nice and peaceful case And you pass the odd other person. I've seen a couple of mump jack as well I know what it'd be like if I try and film one One won't appear at the right time, but the only one I was just going along I didn't have the camera on and mump jack ran in front of the path So yes, it's really really nice piece for woodland, but I'm gonna try and find now is St. James's church I'm gonna find that and then we're gonna go to the very very oldest Landmark in George Cross So the sound of the birds is still with us, but the sound of the traffic is getting louder and louder but Maybe taking you out the woods. I'm gonna show you the St. James's church of George Cross It's a rather fascinating building as you're about to find out here We are start to reveal itself through the trees. You can see the dome Now this church is great to start listed building. It was built in 1856 So it's as old as George Cross itself now The interesting thing is it's got a dome and a tower. It's quite Italian eight looking the story is there were two sisters One wanted a dome one wanted a tower So the easiest thing to do was just to please both of them and give the church a dome and a tower So here we have St. James's church, which don't know the tower. I've been inside it once I've already had a look it's not open today. Unfortunately, but it is beautiful inside. I remember going to Carol concert once I sat on the upstairs gallery and Yes, really pleasant inside so some point I'll have to try and come back and Take some pictures and have a look inside. But anyway, here's St. James's church now. I'm gonna head off Down that footpath there, and that's gonna take us through the houses The other side of the Windsor Road to the oldest landmark in George Cross So I'm now walking along Windsor Road. The footpath went down took me to just up there So that's looking towards Windsor this way is looking towards George Cross Now the place we're going to now I said it's the one the old is the oldest landmark of George Cross and we access it down this private road here called Camp Road It's private, but it's the public footpath. So I'm gonna stick to the public footpaths and take you through to an area known as the Camp or the Roman Camp and That's what people in George Cross tend to refer to it as it's a hill fort now Some people did think it was Roman, but that's kind of been ruled out. No one's really sure it could be Iron Age It could be Bronze Age. It could have been built to Defend us against the Danish. So no one really quite knows The exact origins, but I think from the research that's been done It leans towards suggesting it's Bronze Age hill fort now around the edge of the camp is this Camp Road And it's known as like the Millionaires Road There are so many, you know, million pound or you know quite a few million pound plus houses down here So They encircle it, but the camp is over there. So this is where the footpath goes through here and down there So what I'm gonna do we're gonna go through and we're gonna go and see the the camp It's really quite a fascinating place. So basically as you go down there The houses get bigger bigger. I'm not exaggerating it. They really do get bigger and bigger. They get huge. So Here we are This is Ball Strobe Camp Ancient hill fort. So let's go and see it So there's a few access points This one if you go right through you eventually go down a footpath. You can go around the camp There's a few bits where people's gardens seem to have extended out onto the earthworks But most of the camp you can explore and then a footpath the other side will take you out to buy the ball hotel Which I mentioned earlier on when we were near the first one the ponds. So it's called the Ball Strobe Camp Well that way you won't be able to see it. There is a big house called Ball Strobe House It was owned by Weck International Last I heard they're a Christian organization missionary organization. They've sold it There's talk of it becoming a hotel and not entirely sure what's going on up there But if anyone does know wants to comment and tell me then please do right so we come to here and There is the beginning of the earthworks we see so There you can quite nicely see an earthwork on this side as I said someone's got it in their garden But it must be quite cool if you live in that house You can say you've got an Iron Age hill fort in your garden or a Bronze Age hill fort or you know, whichever Hill fort is as we come out into here. We just come into this massive open space. Look at it. It's huge and vast So this is the camp now probably the best place to go to see The earthworks came for a walk up here the other day and some bits of the earthworks are overgrown So you kind of can't access them and like other bits people have their gardens in The best areas are down here to where the footpath goes out So you can sort of see people walking all around it and across it and It's a really nice place to come for a walk and it's a bit like how the common Where in the woods is really peaceful. It's a bit like that. It's really peaceful, but with them not so many many trees If we go along here in a minute and I see a path that goes Sort of into these oak trees that'll be where we can go and have a look at the earthworks So I haven't done many Henry's adventures videos on earthworks It's something that fascinates me, but I do tend to more focus on looking for actual ruin buildings with masonry So there is no masonry here at all. So every in the video I didn't like to call it one jar of cross oldest buildings because not really building. Yes It's man-made. I'd say it's a landmark. So let's leave the expanse of the camp What just before we go? Bear in mind none of these oak trees would have been here and There's no sort of hill be on there So they would have been able to have seen for miles miles that way I think if you remove those trees now Well, you'd see ballstrobe house over there. You're probably CDM 40, which is about a mile that way So yeah, it would look quite different. But now let's go and have a look at the actual earthworks So as you come here, so here's a bit of a slope Let's go up it And then yeah now here we are Looking down. Let's go down into it. And whether this is an official footpath. I'm not entirely sure There we go so this is down in The hillfort in the rampart of the hillfort. So yeah, it's really quite an impressive place and it's quite an interesting a Nice place to end this video. So I really do hope you've enjoyed this little tour of Jarge Cross where I've taken you back in time so to speak starting with The Tesco's and the saga of the tunnel to the how Jarge Cross came to be to the very oldest earthwork and landmark the The bullstroke camp so if you're ever, you know out this way Why not stop in Jarge Cross go for a walk around the common and have a walk into here There is actually a much quicker way of getting into here from the common than I came because I wanted to show James's church. I kind of went the long way round. So, you know, why not come and visit Jarge Cross and Thank you very much for watching. Please do feel free to like subscribe comment tell your friends tell your neighbors About Henry's adventures and about Jarge Cross. It's a really really pleasant town. Thank you very much for watching from the The bullstroke camp. Goodbye