ON THIS PAGE -I've still got some way to go with my look at Chigley.Just an overview and a few pics so far.

........but a lot more to follow.

THE TRUMPTONSHIRE TRILOGY

CAMBERWICK GREEN,TRUMPTON AND CHIGLEY

Introduction: In true "Family Fortunes" style,if you asked 100 people to name something you'd

associate with the word "Trumpton",I wonder what they'd come up with   ?

Well,suffice to say,that if you're considering "Chigley" as your answer then it might just be

worth reconsidering if you still harbour ambitions of going for the car.

Because,die-hards to one side,it's the part of the Trilogy that most people struggle with.

And if merchadise is the ultimate barometer of popularity then it's not hard to see why.

Because compared to its' predecessors,Chigley was about as prolific as a Siberian ice cream factory.

Outline: Like its' 2 predecessors,Chigley had 13 x 15 minute episodes.

It was 1st broadcast on BBC1 in the Watch With Mother lunchtime slot and ran for 13 consecutive weeks from October 6th,1969.It had the dubious honour of being the last of the 3 series to have a full re-run on the Beeb in 1986.And scored again over the other 2 at the start of its life too.Because the initial broadcasts of all 26 of their episodes had been in black and white.But Chigley's initial run straddled the changeover to colour.So the first few episodes were in b & w and the remainder in colour -although you needed to have a colour tv set and live in a area that was covered by a colour transmitter to be able to see it of course.Which many didn't.

Size-wise,Trumpton is supposed to be a town,Camberwick Green a village,and Chigley little more than a hamlet.And because of the sparser population,a lot of familiar characters reappear throughout the series,giving more posssiblities for storylines and helping to tie all 3 locations together as part of "Trumptonshire"

Specifics: Each episode begins with just the one simple title caption (above),accompanied by a very melancholic little tune as we fade straight into the opening scene.To the accompaniment of Brian's opening line which is invariably "It's a lovely day here at/in...." as he introduces us to a particular character in either Camberwick or Trumpton,rather than Chigley.But they're all about to go there to visit someone or make a delivery.So when he establishes that's where they're off to he follows it with an "Ahh.May we come too   ?" and away we go. (just as well they all said 'yes')

Now,admittedly the other 2 series openings were hard acts to follow.But this makes them look like the title sequence to a Bond movie by comparison.And you're kind of left wondering where the inspiration went.

So,it's a rather flat,non-descript start and how much you think it picks up after that is obviously open to opinion.

I certainly remember being disappointed by Chigley as a kid,although I don't  really recall why to be honest.

So I'm relying largely on comparison and purely from an adult's perspective.And having spent hours watching them (all in the name of research of course !),here's why I think it struggled:-

1: CHIGLEY,THE PLACE

Camberwick has the Village Green and Trumpton has the Town Square.But the nearest thing Chigley has to a central heartbeat is Winkstead Hall.Admittedly,people come together for a daily 6 o'clock dance in the grounds but as it's just tacked on to form the end credits it simply feels like the Trumpton Band Concert but without all the Town Square activity that precedes it.You simply don't get any real sense of a community with Chigley.And,other than the Wharf,the locations are all pretty non-descript too.

2: CONTENT

The heavy involvement of characters from the other 2 series can be viewed a couple of ways.

Either that it's always good to see old friends,and it helps to put Chigley into some sort of context.

Or simply that it waters it down too much

Which wouldn't be so much of a problem if the Chigley residents were particularly memorable.

Not that all the characters in Camberwick and Trumpton were "Windy Miller's." But the problem with Chigley is that you're really scratching around to find any that come even close.

Lord Belborough's clearly the man most likely.Helped hugely by the fact he happens to drive a steam engine that features in every episode.And the fact that he's blessed with probably the 2 best 'hooks' of the whole series.

The first being the immortal "time flies by when I'm the driver of a train" ditty,which is right up there with the best of anything Trumptonshire can offer.

And the second is the bizarre positioning of his arms as he walks.With his hands held at chest height and elbows stuck out at each side,he looks like he's about to break into the "old bamboo" dance from Mary Poppins.(an old friend of this site and Camberwick contemporary if you've read the character biogs).

But outside of him they're a pretty dull and anonymous bunch frankly.Which is rammed home when the Camberwick & Trumpton characters appear,and you suddenly think things are looking up.

I'm not sure that there's any more stock footage in Chigley than the others,but it certainly felt like it.

And some of the animation is also a little less than careful-even by Trumps standards.With things like the crane bouncing about at the Wharf having a hard time passing a 4 year old's scrutiny to be honest,nevermind mine.

And some of the models and sets are actually showing visible signs of wear and tear with noticeable scuffs and marks -particularly those subjected to constant handling by the animators from the first 2 series.

3: CONCLUSION

Irrespective of the comparitive quality,it clearly suffered at the time simply because it was 3rd in line.

It could never hope to make as big an impact as the first 2 and a steady diet of repeats meant most kids had overdosed on Trumptonshire by the time it arrived.

If it had aired 1st or 2nd then it would have been far more widely remembered -and fondly.

So,how about,"less than hoped for,but maybe as much as could've been expected."

As the first was a classic,and the second merely confirmation of genius then perhaps a third really was just too much to ask-particularly when most people struggle to come up with one.And Chigley's still stands up well against anything other than Camberwick and Trumpton.

But it's undeniably the least inspired and I'm personally glad they didn't do a 4th,because it wouldn't have got any better.Quite apart from the fact I'd have been too old to watch it by then anyway.Although I'm still glad they did 3.

As a prelude to the pending arrival of Chiggers page 2,here are just the 4 main locations:-

Winkstead Hall. Home to Lord Belborough.

Treddle's Wharf. Also in this shot are.....

Lord B's steam train 'Bessie'

Lord B & butler,"Brackett" on the footplate, Mr.Rumpling's Barge,

Mr.Swallow the Wharfinger in the crane,

& the Minton's moonlighting from Camberwick Grn.

"Cresswell's Chigley Biscuits"Factory.

Each episode ends with the 6 o'clock end-of-day whistle blowing and the workers emerging to take part in an open air dance hosted by Lord B in the Hall grounds

Chigley Pottery -workshop/studio.

Just as well it's not a main line !

Did you know that the model for Winkstead Hall was based on a real country house  ?

Or that the only character in Trumptonshire who has an accent happens to live in Chigley  ?

Well,that and much more will be revealed when the next bit of our look at Chigley is uploaded.