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THEALBIONINN

Our story

The Albion, stop by stop

From the railway’s arrival in 1866 to the present day. Every date here comes from the census, the county archives, local historians or the pub’s own photographs. The sources are listed at the end.

  1. Before 1866

    A hamlet of potters

    Before the railway, Verwood was a small place in the parish of Cranborne, known for its potteries and brickmakers. The 1861 census lists an innkeeper in Verwood, but no hotel.

    Sources: [1], [2]

  2. 20 December 1866

    The line opens

    Nineteen miles of single track opened from Alderbury Junction, near Salisbury, to West Moors, near Wimborne. Verwood had a small station with a passing loop, on the south side of where the Albion stands.

    The goods yard had cattle pens, a crane and a coal depot. Farmers sent their milk by train to London and Bournemouth.

    Sources: [3], [4], [2]

  3. 1871

    The Albion Hotel, first on record

    The census of 2 April 1871 lists the Albion Hotel beside the station. Its keeper was John W. Beckingham, 50, from Winchester: licensed victualler and brickmaker. His son Wesley made bricks too.

    The hotel stood in the station yard itself, with its own stables, which was unusual for an inn. Next door, at the station, lived Richard J. Chandler, with a young railway clerk as his boarder.

    Sources: [1], [2]

  4. 1881 – 1901

    Keepers of the station hotel

    Each census finds a new name over the door, and the station master close by.

    CensusKeeper of the Albion HotelBorn
    1871John W. Beckingham, licensed victualler and brickmakerWinchester
    1881Eleanor Gardener, widow, licensed victuallerFovant, Wiltshire
    1891Thomas Harrington, innkeeperWoodgreen, Hampshire
    1901Samuel Parker, licensed victuallerFordingbridge

    Sources: [1]

  5. Early 1900s

    From the platform

    Seen from the platform, over the picket fence: the gable with its diamond pattern in the brickwork, still there today. The diamond is in our name.

    Sources: [9]

    The Albion Hotel in the early 1900s, seen from the platform over a picket fence with a Lipton’s Tea sign
    The Albion Hotel from the station platform

  6. Royal visits

    Kings and queens at Verwood

    Verwood was the nearest station to the great houses at Cranborne, Wimborne St Giles and Crichel, so royalty used it too. Queen Alexandra and King George VI were among them.

    For one royal arrival, the schoolchildren lined up outside the Albion in their best clothes, the girls in hats.

    Sources: [2], [6], [9]

    Schoolchildren in their best clothes and hats lined up outside the flag-hung Albion Hotel
    Schoolchildren outside the Albion Hotel, waiting to greet royalty

  7. 1910

    Staff on the platform

    Station staff and platelayers line up for the camera. Behind them, the brick road bridge carries the road over the line. The same bridge still stands at the edge of our garden.

    Sources: [9], [2]

    Staff and platelayers at Verwood station in 1910, with the brick road bridge behind them
    Verwood station, 1910

  8. 1925

    Gibbs Mew of Salisbury

    The papers of the Salisbury brewer Gibbs Mew & Co. include a file on the Albion Hotel, Verwood, from 1925 to 1931. It survives at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.

    Sources: [7]

  9. 2 May 1964

    The last trains

    The last passenger trains ran on Saturday 2 May 1964, and every one was full. The line closed on Monday 4 May, one of the Beeching cuts.

    Sources: [3], [2], [9]

    A steam engine and carriage beside the platform at Verwood station
    The last passenger train at Verwood, 2 May 1964

  10. 1965

    The rails come up

    The track was lifted the year after closure. The station and the station master’s house were later pulled down, and houses now stand on the old goods yard.

    Sources: [3], [2]

  11. 1970s

    Still the Albion Hotel

    The sign band ran in white letters on navy: Albion Hotel, a Gibbs house. The yard in front was a car park, and the regulars wore flares.

    Sources: [9]

    The Albion Hotel in the 1970s, with a navy Gibbs sign band and cars of the period in the car park
    The Albion Hotel in the 1970s
    A crowd of regulars in flares and denim lined up outside the Albion Hotel under the Gibbs sign
    Regulars outside the Albion Hotel
    Five people raise their glasses outside the Albion Hotel
    Raising a glass

  12. 1990

    The road moves

    Station Road was realigned to pass the other side of the pub. The old road bridge was left standing, and the space under its arch became part of the garden.

    Sources: [5], [2]

  13. Today

    A garden on the old line

    The beer garden covers the old station site, and the conservatory stands beside it. Under the arch of the old road bridge is our garden bar.

    The hotel rooms are long gone, and with them the word hotel: the Albion Hotel is now the Albion Inn.

    Sources: [3], [8]

    The garden bar glowing under the ivy-covered brick railway arch at dusk, with picnic tables on the grass
    The garden bar under the old road bridge

  14. November 2025

    A new chapter

    The Albion opened its doors again as a family-run pub, under a new sign: a steam engine coming through the smoke, for the railway that built us.

    Sources: [9]

    The new pub sign: The Albion Inn, Verwood, above a steam locomotive coming head-on out of dark smoke
    The new sign

Sources

  1. [1]Verwood census returns 1841–1901, transcribed by the Verwood Historical Society (Dorset OPC)
  2. [2]Verwood Station, history.verwood.org
  3. [3]Verwood railway station, Wikipedia
  4. [4]Verwood history timeline, verwood.org
  5. [5]Verwood history timeline 1900–1999, verwood.org
  6. [6]Verwood then and now, Dorset Life
  7. [7]Albion Hotel, Verwood: Gibbs Mew & Co., 1925–1931 (Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, 1821/16)
  8. [8]Albion Inn, Verwood, CAMRA
  9. [9]Photographs from the Albion’s own collection

The year the Albion was built is not on record. It is not in the 1859 directory or the 1861 census, and it first appears in the census of 2 April 1871. If you know more, or have old photographs of the Albion, we would love to hear from you.

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