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ry tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikimedia commons wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide coordinates 52 18 25 n 1 07 21 w 52 3069 n 1 1226 w 52 3069 1 1226 from wikipedia the free encyclopedia motorway services in northamptonshire england watford gap services watford gap services northbound watford gap services location in northamptonshire england show map of northamptonshire watford gap services location on the uk motorway network show map of uk motorways information county northamptonshire road m1 coordinates 52 18 25 n 1 07 21 w 52 3069 n 1 1226 w 52 3069 1 1226 operator roadchef previous operator blue boar date opened 2 november 1959 1959 11 02 website www roadchef com locations watford gap watford gap services are motorway services on the m1 motorway in northamptonshire england they opened on 2 november 1959 the same day as the m1 making them one of the oldest motorway services in britain the facilities were originally managed by blue boar a local company that had run a nearby petrol station before the m1 opened roadchef bought the services from blue boar in 1995 the main building was designed by harry weedon the architect for odeon cinemas while the layout and general buildings were designed by coordinating architect owen williams the main building was not ready on opening so food was served from temporary sheds the restaurant opened in september 1960 but due to the site s reputation as a truck stop was redesigned in 1964 to accommodate a waitress service the services became a meeting place for rock bands in the 1960s including the beatles the rolling stones pink floyd and jimi hendrix as it provided a convenient place to sit down and eat a meal in the early hours of the morning hendrix was said to have mistaken the rest stop for a nightclub having heard about the hotspot from other musicians 1 in the 1970s the quality of the services declined and the food came in for harsh criticism from journalists and artists such as roy harper since purchase in 1995 roadchef have refurbished the premises they have promoted its history including the association with a north south divide and its regular use by 1960s rock musicians a number of events took place to celebrate the 50th anniversary in november 2009 including a musical about the services the services are named after the nearby watford gap a crossing point of the limestone ridge just north of the village of watford the name is unrelated to that of the town of watford in hertfordshire location edit the services are in northamptonshire england close to the village of watford about 8 miles 13 km to the south east of rugby 5 miles 8 km north of daventry and approximately 75 miles 121 km to the north west of london they are situated between junctions 16 and 17 of the m1 with a single site for each direction on the motorway linked by a footbridge 2 the name comes from the nearby watford gap the narrowest and lowest point in the limestone ridge that crosses england diagonally from the cotswolds to lincoln edge 3 in roman britain iter ii later named watling street 4 crossed the gap thomas telford considered the route unsuitable for coach traffic due to the presence of quicksand today this is reflected in the modern road network by the a5 suddenly turning left towards kilsby near the services similarly the grand union canal which runs immediately behind the northbound vehicle park avoided the gap by the crick tunnel consequently the roman road at watford gap was largely untouched by previous engineering works when the m1 was constructed and the engineers were able to build over it 5 in popular culture the watford gap is often considered to be a dividing line that separates the north and the south of england 6 the phrase north of the watford gap may be shortened to north of watford inviting confusion with the larger town of watford further south in hertfordshire that is also linked by the m1 7 roadchef have suggested that the services name should be included in the oxford english dictionary as an expression of the divide between the north and south 8 history edit the m1 and watford gap services in 1961 the services were one of the first of their kind in the uk opening alongside newport pagnell as the first two service areas on 2 november 1959 at the same time as the new m1 motorway 9 they evolved from discussions during 1955 and 1956 by the ministry of transport over what facilities should be present on new motorways civil engineer owen williams visited the united states to see what existing rest areas were available and based his designs on these watford gap was chosen as one of four pilot sites though by 1958 the ministry had decided only this and newport pagnell services would open with the motorway 10 the land on which the services were built belonged to the thorntons of brockhall hall who had owned the manor since 1625 the family had previously attempted to block the grand union canal and the main london birmingham railway across the gap without success 5 brock hall was eventually sold in 1969 and converted into flats 11 the structure was built on the site of derelict farm buildings 12 there were different designers for different parts of the service area with owen williams as the coordinating architect 13 an ornate design for a footbridge by clough williams ellis was rejected in favour of a more functional and conservative modernist design by owen williams 13 when the services opened the new buildings were incomplete so the food was served from temporary sheds 14 the original plan had been for trucks to use this service station and for cars to use newport pagnell in practice however both service areas were unrestricted 2 the first owners of the services were blue boar limited a family company that owned a nearby petrol station on the a5 although the official name has always been watford gap the services were colloquially called blue boar for some time after opening 15 the original buildings at watford gap were designed by harry w weedon and partners already well known for their work for odeon cinemas 16 the restaurant opened in september 1960 but the ministry were unhappy about the services reputation as a truck stop dating back to blue boar s popularity with hgv drivers they consequently redesigned the restaurant in 1964 to accommodate a waitress service which they hoped would lose at least some of the stigma of having been started in 1959 as primarily a commercial driver s facility 17 food was criticised for being expensive though scottish unionist mp tam galbraith disputed this noting he could buy steak and kidney pie with chips buttered roll and a cup of tea at watford gap for 4s 2d 18 0 21 equivalent to 3 69 in 2025 by the 1970s the quality of the food had declined substantially and because it was also in a prominent location the services became a byword for poor catering roy harper wrote a song criticising the food at the watford gap on his 1977 album bullinamingvase 9 writing watford gap watford gap a plate of grease and a load of crap 19 the owners of watford gap service station objected to criticism of their food as did an emi board member who was also a non executive director of blue boar harper defended his decision to write the song claiming the food was junk absolute junk 20 in 1989 one journalist claimed the services had some of the worst food found on the road network adding if i threw the toast out of the window it would probably still be bouncing up the m1 21 roadchef purchased the motorway businesses from blue boar in 1995 and have since improved facilities 22 in 2011 and 2012 it was rated as 3 stars by quality assessors at visit england 23 roadchef celebrated the services 50th anniversary on 2 november 2009 by selling cups of tea at 1959 prices 24 a road sign was erected pointing to the north and the south on the same day 8 as part of the anniversary celebrations local film maker and composer benjamin till created a musical about watford gap 25 the show featured stories from eighty people who had worked or been associated with the services 25 including local residents who remembered the services opening 26 notable visitors edit though the ministry of transport was adamant that the services should not be destinations in their own right they did acquire a reputation for being a popular place for motorists to visit 27 during the 1960s the services were a regular stopping venue for bands such as pink floyd 28 the beatles stopped at watford gap while travelling from liverpool to gigs in the south in the early stage of their career 29 jimi hendrix heard so much about blue boar as the services were then popularly known that he thought it was a london nightclub 30 gerry marsden leader of the pacemakers regularly visited the services when touring saying it was good for a quick stop and a quick nosh 2 pink floyd s nick mason recalls hendrix stopping off at the services at 2am while the zombies chris white thought the services were the feeding trough of the beat boom 30 harper claimed everybody would meet at watford gap because it was the one place after a show where you were guaranteed a bit of a sit down at 2am 20 the services association with 1960s musicians is remembered in a set of photographs published in 2008 of the stones stopping at watford gap on the way to atv studios birmingham in 1963 31 in 2009 roadchef paid a former employee 1 000 for autographs she had collected while working there including those of paul mccartney mick jagger keith richards brian jones dusty springfield and cliff richard 15 in july 2011 music journalist peter paphides presented late nights at the blue boar a bbc radio 4 documentary about the connection between the services and britain s 1960s rock bands 32 references edit goodbye to the iconic watford gap m1 services bbc news 4 november 2023 retrieved 14 november 2024 1 2 3 harrison ian 2008 britain from above anova books p 107 isbn 978 1 86205 834 7 e a labrum 1994 civil engineering heritage eastern and central england thomas telford pp 207 208 isbn 9780727719706 william richard lethaby 1902 london before the conquest macmillan p 52 1 2 parker 2013 p 161 wales katie northern english a cultural and social history cambridge university press moran 2005 p 107 1 2 m1 sign celebrates north south divide daily telegraph 2 november 2009 retrieved 14 may 2014 1 2 harrison ian marr andrew 2008 britain from above pavilion books merriman 2011 p 95 parker 2013 p 164 barton s britain watford gap services the guardian 7 july 2009 retrieved 14 may 2014 1 2 peter merriman 22 july 2011 driving spaces a cultural historical geography of england s m1 motorway john wiley sons p 96 isbn 9781444355475 60s legends who called at the m1 s blue boar coventry telegraph 4 november 2009 retrieved 17 june 2014 1 2 cockroft lucy 28 january 2009 autographs collected from pop stars who visited watford gap services to go on display daily telegraph retrieved 14 may 2014 merriman 2011 p 98 merriman 2011 p 183 galbraith tam 17 february 1964 motorways catering facilities parliamentary debates hansard retrieved 15 may 2014 stuart bailey and laurence cawley 22 june 2020 stories from the uk s first motorway service station bbc co uk 1 2 de lisle tim 25 august 2006 in search of a british route 66 the guardian retrieved 14 may 2014 merriman 2011 p 203 holder judith 2005 it s grim up north random house pp 26 27 isbn 978 0 563 52281 2 motorway service area quality scheme pdf visit england retrieved 15 may 2014 watford gap services turns 50 forecourt trader 2 november 2009 archived from the original on 14 may 2014 retrieved 14 may 2014 1 2 watford gap the musical bbc news retrieved 14 may 2014 watford gap the musical northampton herald and post 30 june 2009 retrieved 14 may 2014 merriman 2011 p 178 mason 2004 p 33 brian harrison 2009 seeking a role the united kingdom 1951 1970 oxford university press p 250 isbn 978 0 19 160678 6 1 2 moran 2010 p 128 keogh kat 26 november 2008 birmingham exhibition of philip townsend s pictures birmingham mail retrieved 20 may 2014 radio 4 programmes late nights at the blue boar bbc 12 july 2011 retrieved 5 september 2011 books mason nick 2004 inside out a personal history of pink floyd widenfeld nicolson isbn 0 297 84387 7 merriman peter 2011 driving spaces a cultural historical geography of england s m1 motorway john wiley sons isbn 978 1 4443 5547 5 moran joe 2005 reading the everyday taylor francis isbn 978 0 415 31709 2 moran joe 2010 on roads profile books isbn 978 1 84668 060 1 parker mike 2013 mapping the roads aa publishing isbn 978 0 7495 7435 2 external links edit official website next southbound northampton motorway service stations on the m1 motorway next northbound leicester forest east v t e motorway and major road service stations in the united kingdom applegreen lisburn templepatrick bp express heart of scotland eg group monmouth rivington ross spur extra baldock beaconsfield blackburn with darwen cambridge cobham cullompton leeds peterborough independent cornwall folkestone moto birch blyth bridgwater burton in kendal cardiff west cherwell valley chieveley donington park exeter ferrybridge frankley grantham north heston hilton park kinross knutsford lancaster forton leigh delamere medway pease pottage reading rugby scotch corner severn view southwaite stafford northbound stirling swansea tamworth thurrock toddington todhills trowell wetherby winchester woolley edge roadchef annandale water bothwell catterick future chester clacket lane durham hamilton killington lake maidstone magor northampton norton canes pont abraham rownhams sandbach sedgemoor southbound stafford southbound strensham taunton deane tibshelf watford gap welcome break abington birchanger green burtonwood cardiff gate charnock richard corley derby south fleet gretna green gordano hartshead moor hopwood park keele leicester forest east london gateway membury michaelwood newport pagnell oxford rotherham sarn park sedgemoor northbound south mimms telford vale of york future warwick woodall westmorland gloucester tebay category list retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title watford_gap_services oldid 1364537559 categories m1 motorway service stations roadchef motorway service stations hidden categories articles with short description short description is different from wikidata use dmy dates from november 2024 use british english from march 2017 all wikipedia articles written in british english pages using gadget wikiminiatlas coordinates on wikidata official website not in wikidata good articles this page was last edited on 17 july 2026 at 03 12 utc page was rendered with parsoid text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike 4 0 license 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