Ogden's Lane signal box; Deptford, Sunderland

[Pelawmain]

Hi
Does anyone know how the former Ogden's Lane signal box got its name? I ask because it was actually located in Lisburn Terrace Deptford, and I've been unable to find any reference to an Ogden's Lane in old maps of the town.

 

[a_c_skinner]

Was there a tobacco connection?

 

[Pelawmain]

I don't think so. Ogden isn't even a name that has any big Sunderland connections - at least that I know of.

 

[Darandio]

Apparently the NER Deptford branch was on Ogden's Lane, according to the Sunderland Echo anyway. I wouldn't recommend trying to use their site to look further though, it's crippling because of adverts.

Diverging from the NER's Deptford branch at Ogden's Lane, a half-mile incline led directly into Doxfords' shipyard. Opened in 1865, the Deptford branch formed a junction with the Penshaw branch just east of Pallion station.

But then that could just be referring to the name of the box.

 

[Pelawmain]

Yes, l'd looked at the Echo article too. Tedious to say the least!
Old Sunderland maps going back to the turn of the 20th Century refer only to Lisburn Terrace - I'm going to have another try this evening and see if I can find some really archaic map where Ogden gets a mention.

 

[swt_passenger]

Yes, l'd looked at the Echo article too. Tedious to say the least!
Old Sunderland maps going back to the turn of the 20th Century refer only to Lisburn Terrace - I'm going to have another try this evening and see if I can find some really archaic map where Ogden gets a mention.

There’s an Ogden St not that far away to the SE on some old maps. But back then not every lane or path would get always get named on maps, it could also have been a locally used nickname for a lane with a different ‘official’ name.

 

[Pelawmain]

Haha, very likely. The NER using a bit of artistic licence. There are many boxes with odd names but this one is so specific yet bears no relation to the road on which it stood.

 

[swt_passenger]

Haha, very likely. The NER using a bit of artistic licence. There are many boxes with odd names but this one is so specific yet bears no relation to the road on which it stood.

Also found a reference in Kelly’s directory to Ogden’s Deptford Chemical Works, on Copperas Bank, which is shown in a few old maps but without the owners name. I also found mentions of Ogden’s Bank in the British Newspaper Archive, and an Ogden’s Quay. This is around 1880s before the railway expansion. Copperas Bank was in line with Lisburn Terrace across the tracks. As a relatively large employer in the area to the north towards the river the site could easily have included a colloquially named “Ogdens Lane”.

 

[Pelawmain]

That's seems the most plausible explanation. I'll have a look at that in a while. You've sorted out in ten minutes what I've pondered over foot at least two years!

 

[swt_passenger]

That's seems the most plausible explanation. I'll have a look at that in a while. You've sorted out in ten minutes what I've pondered over foot at least two years!

Lucky guess! More seriously I have subscribed to the British Newspaper Archive, mainly for genealogical research, but old news articles often give you a break into many other issues.