History of Moreton-in-Marsh

erhampton Railway, built between 1845 and 1851, passes through Moreton. The railway station was opened in 1853. The Great Western Railway (GWR) took over the OW&W Railway in 1862 and the Shipston branch in 1868. The GWR withdrew passenger trains from the branch in 1929 and British Railways withdrew freight traffic and closed it in 1960. The OW&W Railway is now part of the Cotswold line. The line between Oxford (Wolverton Junction) and Worcester (Norton Junction) was singled, except for the distance between Shipton-under-Wychwood to Moreton-in-Marsh, in the 1970s. The double track has been replaced, except between Evesham and Worcester (Norton Junction) in 2011, and freight services are planned to re-use this route.

The Redesdale Market Hall was designed by the architect Sir Ernest George and built in 1887.

The town was known as "Moreton-in-the-Marsh" into the early 20th century. The name was changed to "Moreton-in-Marsh" before 1930.

In 1940, during the Second World War a large area of level land east of the town was developed as RAF Moreton-in-Marsh and used by Wellington bombers. The former airfield is now the Fire Service College where senior fire officers from brigades all over the UK undergo operational, management and leadership training. The same complex is also now the headquarters of the Institution of Fire Engineers, the professional body for fire fighters, officers and civilians with an interest in fire engineering.

Moreton-in-Marsh and Batsford War Memorial is in the High Street and commemorates the dead of the First and Second World Wars.

The last time Moreton was badly flooded was in 2007. The floods, which blocked the High Street, were fairly regular in the