Bradley Gate : myth and mystery at Blue Anchor station

摘要

Transport history is littered with examples of errors and misunderstandings which, even when refuted, are perpetuated and accepted as 'facts' through repeated copying.1 One such case is a claim that Blue Anchor railway station, on the Minehead branch in Somerset, had an earlier name of Bradley Gate. This claim appears in numerous books and articles, in print and online, and persists in spite of being dismissed as a myth by Coleby in his detailed history of the branch.2 This paper verifies the original station name as Blue Anchor in the light of available evidence and suggests when and how the Bradley Gate myth originated and spread. There is something of a mystery as to what and where 'Bradley Gate' was - some ideas are explored.