# Blue Star Filling Station Fordingbridge



## hydealfred (Mar 28, 2011)

I always consider it a bonus when you are out looking for something and you unwittingly come across something unexpected. Well this happened to me yesterday. A curious disused filling station in a New Forset town. No history forthcoming but worth recording here I feel. 




















































Thanks for looking.


----------



## jhluxton (Mar 30, 2011)

Very interesting!

Blue Star was a chain of Petrol Stations / Garages / Motor Dealers in the UK which lasted into the 1970s.

They often sold Regent brand, later Texaco petrol.

There was a "Blue Star" very close to where I lived in Liverpool on Smithdown Road. 

My father and grandfather always used to have their cars serviced there when I was young in the 60s and 70s. 

This closed in the late 1970s, lay derelict for some time, before the petrol forecourt reopened as an Elf, later Total branded filling station in 1982 and still trades today as the Total Smithdown Road Filling Station. 

The actual car workshops behind the forecourt were flattened and houses built thereon around the same time as the forecourt reopened.

A few years ago I acquired on of these houses and thus live on part of a Blue Star garage site!

I was aware of some "Blue Star" garages when I went on trips with my parents. 

One of which I also became well aware of was near Hayle in Cornwall, close to the end of the current Hayle by pass andnot far from family holiday destinations in Penzance and St. Ives.

The is garage was then on what was the original A30. Part of the building still stands but is no longer a garage. When it was a garage I think it had a cafe attached.

This "Blue Star" I think sold shell petrol or did at least in its later years.

I am sure a few years ago there were some internet references to the former "Blue Star" - but can't, this evening find it.

John


----------



## hydealfred (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks John - nice to get a bit of background as to who Blue Star were.


----------



## jhluxton (Mar 31, 2011)

hydealfred said:


> Thanks John - nice to get a bit of background as to who Blue Star were.



The one you photographed must have lain abandoned for years. Nice to see the old logo and type face if a bit faded. The one near me had an iluminated blue star on a a curved concrete canopy

Wish I had a photograph of it now! I was into photography when I was young but never tended to take photos of local things. :-((

John


----------



## Em_Ux (Apr 1, 2011)

Like the look of this!

For some reason it feels like it should be on a dusty quiet road in America!

Thanks for sharing


----------



## Ace5150 (Apr 1, 2011)

I recall Blue Star establishments when we went on our yearly camping holidays, which I hated, and the old man going to Blue Star for Paraffin for the lamp.........before the days of safer calor gas bottles!
The tight fisted old git would save on getting Army surplus equipment like lamps. I always liked the smell of paraffin..........not that it turned me into a glue sniffer or anything!!


----------



## hydealfred (Apr 1, 2011)

I dont recall Blue Star - I remember National with the yellow winged head kind of logo - were there others long gone ??


----------



## jhluxton (Apr 2, 2011)

National - or National Benzole was a petroleum brand not a garage chain. 

National ended up as a subsidiary of BP.

A potted history can be found at

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Benzole[/ame]

Blue Star outlets appeared to favour selling Regent petrol a sub brand of Texaco - though I don't think they were exclusively Regent/Texaco.

The one at Hayle, Cornwall, I am sure was either Shell or BP.

If one googles BLue Star Garages on an image search it produced a garage photo taken in 1962 and it appears to be a multi fuel brand garage. Regent, Fina Mobil and Shell! 

Multi fuel brand garages were quite common once - but do any still exist now?

John


----------



## Anotherworld (Apr 7, 2011)

brilliant pics -particularly like the switches , thanks for sharing.


----------



## Cuban B. (Apr 9, 2011)

Very nice, looks like it's off some sort of WWII base.


----------



## V70 (Apr 9, 2011)

I like the sign "Before working on or near illuminous tube installation.." sign 

Amazing the building survives, as it's clearly been abandoned for a long time, as a petrol station at least.


----------



## Mpk (Aug 8, 2022)

hydealfred said:


> I always consider it a bonus when you are out looking for something and you unwittingly come across something unexpected. Well this happened to me yesterday. A curious disused filling station in a New Forset town. No history forthcoming but worth recording here I feel.
> 
> View attachment 97113
> 
> ...


Hello I was the last person to run the site as petrol station. The surrounding land was in the lease. We started with tin soldier pumps and had all the fittings people rave about today.I was 21 went took it on. Best regards Martin


----------



## HistoryBuff (Aug 8, 2022)

Mpk said:


> Hello I was the last person to run the site as petrol station. The surrounding land was in the lease. We started with tin soldier pumps and had all the fittings people rave about today.I was 21 went took it on. Best regards Martin


Welcome, Martin. That's interesting. When was that and what petrol were you selling?


----------



## Mpk (Aug 8, 2022)

HistoryBuff said:


> Welcome, Martin. That's interesting. When was that and what petrol were you selling?


We sold Texaco petrol they had just bought Regent so we had the Regent, Texaco tops which they all rave about on motoring memorabilia shows. Blue star was either a regent product range. But I seem to recall Blue Star batteries. We were there 1974 or thereabouts I am 69 years old now. The new bypass killed the petrol station forever. We campaigned for the bypass to start further up. If that had happened it might be open today. But they bypass was used and next petrol caught all the passing trade.


----------



## Mearing (Aug 9, 2022)

Em_Ux said:


> Like the look of this!
> 
> For some reason it feels like it should be on a dusty quiet road in America!
> 
> Thanks for


Edward Hopper painting "gas" 1940?


Em_Ux said:


> Like the look of this!
> 
> For some reason it feels like it should be on a dusty quiet road in America!
> 
> Thanks for sharing


----------



## HistoryBuff (Aug 10, 2022)

Mpk said:


> We sold Texaco petrol they had just bought Regent so we had the Regent, Texaco tops which they all rave about on motoring memorabilia shows. Blue star was either a regent product range. But I seem to recall Blue Star batteries. We were there 1974 or thereabouts I am 69 years old now. The new bypass killed the petrol station forever. We campaigned for the bypass to start further up. If that had happened it might be open today. But they bypass was used and next petrol caught all the passing trade.


Would you know if it's still standing?


----------



## night crawler (Aug 10, 2022)

HistoryBuff said:


> Would you know if it's still standing?


11 years ago if it has not fallen down I dare say they built a house there now


----------



## Mpk (Aug 10, 2022)

Yes as far I know it’s still standing. I passed a couple of years ago. The surrounding land is farm land so it’s unlikely that it will go for housing. When we ran we tried several change of uses. But the council were against everything. I had to apply for planning permission to have an open sign on the roadside. 
Happy days nevertheless


----------

