REPORT ON THE SEPTEMBER 2009 MEETING

Wright Brothers

In 1919 a young man called Tom Wright decided that he would use his demobilisation payment from the army to buy a taxi and this was the stepping stone leading to the establishment of what was to become a much loved and respected institution in the North Pennines in general and Nenthead in particular. The next step was the purchase, in 1924, of a Ford bus and this was operated between Alston and Nenthead. At that time, unlike today, there was sufficient demand and traffic to make this a viable enterprise. This embryo service was the establishment of Wright Brothers Coaches as a major force as a bus operator in the area and which, 85 years later, is still working.

To mark this anniversary and continuing its policy of celebrating the successful aspects of Alston Moor, the Alston Moor Historical Society invited Ian Wright to give a presentation detailing the history of the company. Ian is a third generation member of the Wright Brothers dynasty and as he was brought up immersed in the bus operating business, it was inevitable that he would continue the family tradition. He was assisted in his presentation by a friend, another bus enthusiast and student of small bus operators, Mike Harper-Tarr. An excellent collection of digitally projected photographs had been put together by Simon Danby to support the talk. The talk gave a detailed account of the significant events in the company’s development.

Wright Brothers is a household name in the North Pennines and is highly regarded and appreciated. The Society had extended its usual catchment area for publicity and a good audience was expected. It was feared that the meeting rooms in Alston would not be big enough to accommodate the expected audience and therefore the Village Hall at Nenthead was booked for the occasion. The concerns were thankfully justified as there were 110 in the audience – probably an all-time record! Holding the meeting in Nenthead resulted in many of the people from the village attending, as going back over the years, they could identify very closely with the events and characters mentioned in the talk. The Hall is also very close to Wright’s garage where an exhibition of coaches was made available for inspection. Of particular interest was one of two bright yellow double-deckers which Wrights own and which spend their lives on tour throughout the UK and Europe providing accommodation for the support teams of touring musical groups.

To help capture the ambience of bus travel, Wrights kindly supplied one of their older buses to transport members and visitors between Alston and Nenthead. In the Hall a display of memorabilia had been mounted, including items such as photographs, ticket punching machines and a bill board advertising all day tours of the Lakes for 8 shillings and sixpence (8/6d) – or 42p in decimal! Old time tables were on display and neither the routes nor the times seem to have changed much over the years.

Times have not always been easy for the Company and they have survived some rocky times. In the earlier days there were many other bus operators in the area but gradually these were taken over or failed. Wrights established a presence in Marlborough Crescent, Newcastle, plus a garage at Blucher, from where they operated the Newcastle to Blackpool route, along with a number of other operators. One photograph showed a queue of some 20 buses (not exclusively Wrights) lining up at the Tyne Café in Alston for a refreshment stop. However, in the 1970’s, the advent of cheap flights to Spain and other places, diminished the attraction of Blackpool and the Lakes as holiday destinations and severely curtailed the traffic on this route.

The formal Company was registered in the 1920’s and gradually grew, extending it’s routes to cover Hexham, Penrith, Wigton, Silloth, Weardale and, arguably the best known route, Keswick. A notable incident in the early days occurred in 1926 when a miner broke into a bus and stole 40 lbs of sausages! In those early pioneering days there must have been a lot of goodwill between the operators fighting to establish their businesses and in 1929 a competitor, Harrison and Hetherington actually borrowed a Wright’s bus to start their business.

There have always been problems to overcome but the key to survival had been the ability and willingness to adapt and to grasp opportunities to diversify. In 1930 there were licensing problems on the Newcastle to Keswick route due to encroaching other operator’s routes, namely United and Ribble. Eventually the ‘bigger’ players realised that they could not cover the route as effectively as Wrights and sharing agreements were made. Old literature used by Ribble and United refers to the fact that it was a joint service and that the actual bus used might be operated by Wrights. However at no time did Wrights, demonstrating their independent spirit, make any reference to the other operators on their timetables.

The talk charted the ebbs and flows of the company in some detail but what shone through was the indomitable will to survive, indicative of the old pioneering spirit that has been evident since the early years, proving the old adage that when one door closes another opens. Business is not easy and running a fleet of coaches is expensive, considering that a brand new coach costs well over £200,000. However being flexible is a great advantage and new opportunities for business have arisen from time to time. During WW11 the Newcastle to Keswick route saw significant traffic transporting evacuees. A licence to run on this route during the winter months was granted. School closures resulted in the need to ‘bus’ pupils to their schools – a major project in the North Pennines. The show business contracts referred to earlier also generate much needed income.

What was perhaps the most impressive feature of the evening was the realisation of the strength of the bond of affection that has built up between the company and the community. In 85 years Wrights have never wavered in their objective of serving the community, still work out of Nenthead and they remain loyal to the people of Alston Moor and their employees. One driver is soon to clock up 60 years unbroken service. There is every reason to believe that, in due course, the centenary of the company can be celebrated.

At the close of the meeting refreshments were served by the ladies of the Friends of Nenthead Village Hall who we would like to thank for their hospitality and assistance to make this venture to Nenthead such a great success.

The next meeting of the Society will return to the Alston Masonic Hall on the 7th October at 7.30 pm. The speaker will be Tom Moss and his topic will be ‘The Capture and Rescue of William Armstrong Kinmont’. This will be a swashbuckling account of the capture and escape from the English of a Scottish Border Reiver from Carlisle Castle. All are welcome.