| Chigley | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Stop motion animation |
| Written by | Gordon Murray |
| Narrated by | Brian Cant |
| Theme music composer | Freddie Phillips |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Gordon Murray |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 6 October 1969 – 29 December 1969 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Trumpton |
Chigley (1969) is the third and final stop-motion children's television series in Gordon Murray's Trumptonshire sequence. Production details are identical to Camberwick Green.
As in Camberwick Green and Trumpton, the action centres around a small community, in this case the fictitious village or hamlet of Chigley, near Camberwick Green in Trumptonshire. Chigley is more of an industrial area, and according to Gordon Murray, the three communities are at the corners of an equilateral triangle.
As with the other two series, the original masters seem to have been lost, and the surviving versions of most episodes are extremely grainy and scratched. However, a remastered version of the entire Trumptonshire trilogy was issued on DVD in 2009 to mark the series' fortieth anniversary.
Contents |
Unlike Trumpton, Chigley includes many guest appearances by characters from the previous two series, including Windy Miller of Camberwick Green, and the Trumpton Fire Brigade, complete with their famous roll-call. This was at least partly for economic reasons, as it allowed the established characters' theme songs to be re-used, thus saving money on recording.
Notable new characters include Mr Swallow of Treddle's Wharf, Mr Cresswell, owner of Cresswell's Chigley Biscuit factory, Harry Farthing the potter and his daughter Winnie, and last but not least Lord Belborough of Winkstead Hall and his butler Brackett, who also operate a private railway that seems to run through most of Trumptonshire. Each week Lord Belborough and Brackett can usually be seen rushing to someone's assistance in their vintage steam engine, Bessie.
As with the other series, everybody's problems are sorted out by the end of each episode and Lord Belborough invites everyone to the gardens of Winkstead Hall after the 6 o'clock whistle which sounds the end of the day's work at the local biscuit factory. Lord Belborough plays his vintage Dutch organ while the locals dance, and then the episode fades out.
Time flies by when I'm the driver of a train
And I ride on the footplate, there and back again.
Under bridges, over bridges, to our destination
Puffing through the countryside there's so much to be seen;
Passengers waving as we steam through a station,
Stoke up, fireman, for the signal is at green:
Time flies by when I'm the driver of a train
And I ride on the footplate, there and back again.
In the cutting, through the tunnel,
Rushing, clanking, on the track;
Wheezing pistons, smoking funnels,
Turning wheels go clickety-clack:
Time flies by when I'm the driver of a train
And I ride on the footplate, there and back again.
Note: Episode titles were given in Radio Times, but were not shown on-screen.
in 1984, 15 years after its broadcast on the BBC in 1969. Longman Video released one video with the first four episodes as pat of its 'Children's Treasury' collection.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Chigley (SLL 5025) | 1984 | Lord Belborough's Secret, Bessie to the Rescue, The Balloon and the Fountain. |
later in 1989 the BBC released a video with the last three episodes (including ep13 Mickey Murphy the Baker as the first episode, ep11 Apples Garlore as the second episode and ep10 Trouble with the Crane as last episode.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Chigley 1- A Present for Lord Belborough (BBCV 4232) | 1989 | A Present for Lord Belborough, Apples Galore, Trouble with the Crane. |
then in 1996-1997 Telstar Home Entertainnment as part of its 'Star Kids' range released two videos.
| VHS video title | Year of release | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Let's Visit Chigley (TVE 3014) | 1996 | Bessie to the Rescue, Lord Belborough's Secret, The Balloon. the Fountain |
| A Ride To Chigley (TVE 3021) | 1997 | Trouble with the Crane, A Present for Lord Belborough, Apples Galore, The Broken Bridge. |
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