Hedingham & Chambers

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Hedingham & Chambers
An Enviro 400 showcased in 50th anniversary livery. It has since been repainted into the current red and maroon livery.
ParentGo-Ahead Group
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012)
Service areaNorth Essex and Suffolk
Service typeBus services
AllianceKonectbus
Routes70
Fleet114 Buses
OperatorGo East Anglia
Websitehedinghamandchambers.co.uk

Hedingham & Chambers is a bus operator, part of the larger Go East Anglia unit within Go-Ahead, consisting of the Hedingham and Chambers brands. The group was formed when Go-Ahead purchased the two firms in June 2012.[1] Since the sale, the two brands have been retained with assets, such as depots, shared along with the launch of a unified website in 2021.[2]

Hedingham[edit]

Hedingham is a public bus brand operated by Hedingham & Chambers in Essex, [3] itself a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group (forming part of the Go East Anglia).[3]

Hedingham
Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Dart and Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 in September 2007
ParentGo-Ahead Group (Go East Anglia)
Founded1921; 103 years ago (1921)
Service areaNorth Essex and Suffolk
Service typeBus services
Routes56 (October 2020)
Fleet80 (November 2020)
OperatorHedingham & Chambers
Websitehedinghamandchambers.co.uk

History[edit]

Leyland Olympians and Volvo Olympians in June 2010
Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 in June 2009

In 1921 Aubrey Letch shortly after serving in World War I, with his parents' help, trading under his own name commenced operating a coach hire company, gradually expanding to run bus services to Braintree and Sudbury on their market days of Wednesday and Thursday respectively. In March 1935 Letch purchased the competing business of PW Finch of Castle Hedingham. This allowed Letch to take over the Monday to Saturday workers' service to Braintree. In the late 1950s, he further expanded the business with routes to Gestingthorpe, Pebmarsh and Halstead.[4][5]

In early 1960, Letch retired due to ill health and sold the company to Donald MacGregor, which was renamed Hedingham & District Omnibuses. Since then the company has grown by acquiring other companies, including:[4][5]

In March 2012 the company was sold to the Go-Ahead Group,[6] forming part of Go East Anglia.[7] Following this, 'Hedingham' became the widely accepted company name and as such is no longer referred to as 'Hedingham Omnibuses'.

A Scania OmniDekka in Colchester in the new livery.

Depots[edit]

Three depots are located in:

Hedingham used to have a depot in Tollesbury however it closed in 2016 due to cuts.[8]

Livery[edit]

Hedingham Omnibuses' livery was cream with red relief, until the 1970s being blue and cream.[5] The livery varied between single deckers/ coaches and double deck buses, with red being the main colours on double deckers with cream relief. The GoAhead Group have, more recently, introduced a livery consisting of a red base, with a maroon front section - identical to that now used by Chambers.

Many buses are transferred from other Go-Ahead subsidiaries. These typically retain their former liveries, as they are end of life vehicles nearing scrapping, or the peak vehicle requirement requires all vehicles to be available, rather than being repainted. Recent transfers include buses from Konectbus, Carousel Buses and Go-Ahead London.

Operations[edit]

Marshall bodied Mercedes-Benz 811D in Bury St Edmunds in November 2008

Hedingham operates in various areas of Essex, extending from Harwich in the north to Tollesbury in the south. The main centre of operations is Clacton-on-Sea, where the company took over the majority of the town's routes following First Essex's withdrawal. Hedingham also operates around Colchester, Halstead, Braintree and Witham, as well as serving villages and the island of West Mersea on council-supported routes.

Flagship routes for the company includes:

  • 88: Halstead-Colchester (operated in a Quality Bus Partnership with First)
  • 89: Braintree-Halstead
  • 'The Seasiders'
    • X76: Jaywick-Clacton-Colchester
    • 63: West Mersea-Colchester
  • 'Clacton Breeze'
    • An open-top bus service operating between Clacton-on-Sea and Holland-on-Sea during the summer season.[9]

Some routes have received buses fitted with free wifi and route branding.[10]

In Popular Culture[edit]

Northern Counties Palatine bodied Volvo Olympian in Sudbury

Two former Hedingham Omnibuses (Bristol VRTs RUA 461W, HJB 455W) masqueraded as London Buses in the 2009 Doctor Who Easter special, Planet of the Dead. The original livery can be seen in the accompanying behind-the-scenes special Doctor Who Confidential: Desert Storm.[citation needed]

Chambers[edit]

Chambers
Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL at Colchester Bus Station, in the new livery introduced following Go-Ahead's takeover.
ParentGo-Ahead Group (Go East Anglia)
Founded1877
HeadquartersSudbury
Service areaEssex
Suffolk
Service typeBus & coach services
Routes14 (April 2019)
Fleet34 (April 2019)
OperatorHedingham & Chambers
Chief executiveJeremy Cooper

Chambers[11] is a public bus brand operated by Hedingham & Chambers in Sudbury, Suffolk, itself a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group (forming part of the Go East Anglia).[3]

3 Guy Arabs and a Bedford OB in July 1970

History[edit]

In 1877 H Chambers commenced a horse-drawn bus business in Bures. In 1918 the first bus was purchased to operate a twice weekly service between Sudbury and Colchester. By the late 1930s routes were operated to Halstead and Haverhill. It also diversified into the haulage business, Chambers exited from this business in the 1960s.[12]

In June 2012 Chambers was sold to the Go-Ahead Group with 27 buses.[1] The depot was not included in the sale with operations moving to fellow Go-Ahead company Hedingham in Sudbury although it still trades under the Chambers name.

Services[edit]

As of April 2019, Chambers operate 14 services (under review as of Jan 2020). Both urban and rural areas are served, many of the company's routes running into Sudbury, and serving the bus station near Sudbury railway station.

Fleet[edit]

As at April 2019 the fleet consisted of 30 buses and 2 coaches.[1] Since the Go-Ahead purchase a new red and maroon fleet livery has been introduced.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Go-Ahead Group Acquires HC Chambers & Son Limited Archived 18 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead Group 6 June 2012
  2. ^ "Website WHOIS Search (hedinghamandchambers.co.uk)". whois.domaintools.com. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Hedingham : Hedingham". www.hedingham.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b About Hedingham Hedingham Omnibus 4 December 2004
  5. ^ a b c Happy Anniversary Hedingham Omnibus! Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Focus Transport 1 August 2010
  6. ^ Go-Ahead buys Hedingham Omnibuses busandcoach.com 6 March 2012
  7. ^ "UK bus". The Go-Ahead Group. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Outraged residents up in arms over Tollesbury bus depot closure". Braintree and Witham Times. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Clacton Breeze : Hedingham". www.hedingham.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Go East Anglia Sustainability Report 2017". Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  11. ^ Companies House extract company no 327497 HC Chambers & Sons Limited
  12. ^ HC Chambers & Son Ltd Bures Online

External links[edit]

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