ELSEYS  OF  GOSBERTON

Operating from Quadring Fen to Spalding

In the Lincolnshire district of South Holland, based in the village of Gosberton between Spalding and Donington, the service shown in the undated but pre-decimalisation timetable (and thus pre-dating 1971) has a generous level of service seven days a week on their bus route through the lanes from Quadring Fen, Gosberton Clough and West Pinchbeck to the market town of Spalding. 

Elseys had first come into the bus business in 1958 with the purchase of the one vehicle firm and routes of H Paling of Gosberton Risegate. But the origins of the Elseys business were from 1949 when a previous partnership with Leverton was dissolved with the former concentrating on bus work and the latter on coaching.  Another operator (Nightingale of Pode Hole, Spalding, trading as Reliance) also ran alongside Elseys on the Quadring Fen route.  Reliance was acquired in 1960 along with two of their vehicles. Elseys took over the business of Campling (Holme Delight) of Donington in 1977, their bus route having passed earlier in 1970 to Kimes of Folkingham.

Another recently viewed timetable leaflet from Aubrey and Win Elsey of Gosberton, dating from 1980, shows timetables for the Spalding - Bourne, Spalding - Quadring Fen, Wigtoft - Spalding routes, as well as a Spalding town service. In later years following express service deregulation Elseys operated a daily coach service between Gosberton, Swineshead, Boston, Spalding and London.  It had previously been operated as an excusion to London from Spalding, and is known to have been running as such regularly on Thursdays and Saturdays by 1977.  The London express route continued until withdrawal at the end of summer 2007, although the Elsey business had been owned by TransLinc, a major operator in the county, since 2001. TransLinc was subsequently acquired by May Gurney.

with many thanks to John Brogden for the loan of the timetable,

and incorporating information from articles and publications

by Roy Marshall and David Kaye found in the libraries of Lincolnshire