Thorpe’s 150th anniversary tribute to rail disaster victims

The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham Usher, visited St Andrew’s Parish Church for the first time, on Sunday, September 15 for a special service to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Thorpe Railway Disaster.

Bishop Graham unveiled and dedicated a commissioned bronze plaque, remembering the 26 people who died because of events of September 10, 1874 when two trains collided head-on at Thorpe marshes.

SPECIAL GUEST: The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham Usher, with the Rev James Stewart.

Every pew was filled with parishioners and guests, including Norwich North MP Alice Macdonald, members of Broadland District Council and Thorpe St Andrew Town Council, including the Town Mayor Fraser Bowe, sponsors and descendants representing five of the victims.

Flags from the British Legion, Norwich TUC and ASLEF were displayed. Prayers for the victims were offered by Rev James Stewart, Rector of Thorpe St Andrew, hymns were sung and a candle was lit for each of the dead.

Descendants were invited to witness the unveiling and dedication, and everyone agreed that the plaque, created by Anglia Sign Casting of Horsford, was a fitting tribute to those who died under appalling circumstances in Thorpe-Next-Norwich, 150 years ago.

The service was the culmination of 10 days in the life of the plaque.  On Wednesday September 4, Rev Stewart and author Phyllida Scrivens visited Horsford and watched as the plaque was revealed.

SUPPORT: Well-attended services were held in the church and on the River Green. Pictures: THORPE HISTORY GROUP.

On the morning of Tuesday, September 10, Phyllida introduced the anniversary on BBC Radio Norfolk, interviewed by presenter Chris Goreham.

At lunchtime the Thorpe branch of Royal British Legion hosted a lunch at The Cottage Pub, with Phyllida giving an illustrated talk about the disaster. By late afternoon, with the rain pouring down and the temperature dropping, the 150 Anniversary Working Party were preparing for the anniversary community gathering on River Green. Natalie Gray from ITV News Anglia was there with her cameraman, and interviewed Rev Stewart and Phyllida Scrivens for the 6pm bulletin.

Natalie remained for the ceremony, and an update was aired on the late evening programme. In spite of the weather, 72 people arrived on River Green at 7.30pm, including a number of costumed cast members from Thorpe Players, fresh from rehearsals for their forthcoming play “Crossed Lines”. Along with others, they performed the task of casting white roses into the River Yare as Rev Stewart read out the names of the victims. This had proved a most moving event in weather conditions akin to those of that fateful night in September 1874.

On Friday evening September 13, Thorpe History Group hosted a special meeting in St Andrew’s Centre, when Phyllida Scrivens again gave her talk to a packed hall. There was much interest in the subject and in her 2021 book The Great Thorpe Railway Disaster 1874: Heroes, Victims, Survivors, published by Pen and Sword Books. On Saturday, September 14, Thorpe History Group showed two groups of visitors around the key locations of the disaster, ending at the recently-refurbished headstone for Thomas Clarke, driver of the train from London, the only victim to be buried in Thorpe Cemetery.

And so, on to the Sunday, a historic moment in the life of the Parish as it is over 40 years since the most recent plaque was displayed inside the church, and the first visit by the current  Bishop of Norwich.

It was a most proper finalé to a busy period in the community of Thorpe St Andrew. An illustrated information leaflet has been prepared, giving visitors a short history of the disaster and brief biographical details of every name that appears on the plaque.  The church is open Tuesday – Sunday and visitors are welcome.