WAKES  SERVICES

The Somerset operator on the Yeovil - Shepton road

Based originally  in a village a few miles north of Yeovil, Wakes have provided services in the area since the 1930's.  Founded originally by Reginald (Reg)  Wake of South Barrow in February 1930 with a second hand Chevrolet 14-seater, services were run to Glastonbury, Yeovil and Shepton Mallet. The business was to grow to include routes from Castle Cary to Yeovil, Keinton Mandeville to Yeovil and Alford to Yeovil.  In 1940 the operating base was moved to Northfield Garage, Sparkford.  The making of the business were the extensive wartime contracts to carry workmen to and from Yeovilton, Henstridge, Corsham and other airfields and camps in the area.
		Winter 1963 and a Wakes double decker marooned in the snow

Post-war, further expansion came with the introduction of the trunk Yeovil to Shepton Mallet daily route in 1947.  For nigh on twenty years from 1949 the route warranted the use of double-deckers - but these were replaced by one-man operated Bedfords in 1968.  

LYA449 AEC Regent III /Reading L55R. This one lasted until 1968

LYB113  AEC Regent III/Reading L55R. Lasted until 1962 

KHU623  Bristol K6A/ECW L55R.  New 1947 to Bristol Tramways & Carriage Co. Ltd and came to Wakes via Say, Gloucester (dealer) in June 1960. Originally built as a K5G it had an AEC engine fitted by Bristol Tramways. It lasted until 1966.

All three were used on the trunk Shepton Mallet - Yeovil service which ran at about two hour frequency with a journey time of an hour and a half.

		Better weather finds Wakes double decker Bristol KHU623 at Shepton Mallet Cenotaph, waiting to depart on the one and a half hour run to Yeovil.
		One day in the 1960s and LYA449 comes into Yeovil at the end of its journey from Shepton Mallet - note the informative destination screen. (photo Roger Grimley)

		Acquisitions grew the business beyond the original base at Sparkford.  Brue Coaches of Bruton was purchased in 1950 and this was followed in 1956 by English Rose Coaches (Chinn) of Wincanton.  This included several stage services and led to Wake's setting up a second base at Wincanton, some miles to the east of Sparkford along the A303 road.  Wincanton soon became the main engineering and operating base from premises in South Street.  Two years later came the takeover of Grosvenor Coaches of Shaftesbury and then  North Dorset Coaches followed in 1971.   With a fleet size now of around twenty five vehicles, coaching and school work and private hire was a significant feature of the business as well as the running of the bus routes.

In January 1966 with the impending closure of the Somerset and Dorset rail line, Wakes were to introduce a replacement daily bus service between Blandford, Gillingham, Wincanton, Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury. But this didn't happen for one reason or another and this dithering effectively prolonged the life of the rail line by two months until March 1966 when the replacement service was introduced by Somervale Coaches of Midsomer Norton. (One of Somervale's drivers based at the southern end of the route in Blandford was Ray Cuff - who recently celebrated his 30th anniversary as a bus operator in his own right, as he introduced partial replacement services when Somervale withdrew from the route in 1972 - but that's another story for another day). 

With the introduction of one man operation on the main route from Yeovil to Shepton Mallet when the double deckers were finally withdrawn in 1968 the usual vehicles to be found on this service were a bus-bodied Bedford VAL JNT252E.  For some unknown reason it was re-registered LWY820D with its previous owner.  The second bus was usually one of the two dual-purpose VAMs with Willowbrook bodies, FYC 126/127C, which had been originally ordered for the Somerset & Dorset rail replacement service (which Wakes did not operate in the end, see previous paragraph).  In 1972/73 two Bedford YRT/Willowbrook bus-bodied 57-seaters took over the main route.   (This was always a busy route and I noted on a visit to Sparkford depot in the 1980's that this service was operated by just two buses and two drivers, both of whom had long all day working shifts. One of the drivers even fitted in a short afternoon school contract run in the Yeovil area).

Following bus deregulation in 1986 the Wakes route network was considerably expanded, with long once or twice weekly routes to market towns in the surrounding area becoming a feature of the operation with services to comparatively distant destinations such as Salisbury, Dorchester, Poole and Taunton.

The Bedford/Duple bus is laying over in Yeovil (corner of Southville and Sherborne Roads), and the man getting into the bus is the Safeway's driver, going for a chat with the Wakes' man.  Taken on 22.04.67.  (Photo Simon Brown).		This Bedford/Strachans bus is pictured at Yeovil Junction Station on the rail link service to Pen Mill Station put in place after the rail service between the two stations was withdrawn.  Taken on 26.05.68.   (Photo Simon Brown).
Decker LYA449 seen at Sparkford depot on 26.05.68 after it had been withdrawn and delicenced.  (Photo Simon Brown).

By 1996 the fleet size had grown to thirty five vehicles, and local bus operation coupled with school contract work was still the mainstay of the business, alongside private hire and some excursion and tour work.  More recently the business was sold by the Wake family - in 1999 - so that Reg's sons Dennis (named after the manufacturer!) and Michael could retire - although I believe they still "help out" with the business for the new owners.  It was bought by South West Coaches of Yeovil, owned by the Hulbert family.  They still continue to operate the Wakes routes as a separate unit and continued for some time under the long established and well known Wakes name.  The Sparkford base is no more, the Northfield Garage site having been sold for redevelopment, and it is now a drive-through MacDonalds restaurant, in a prime site alongside the busy A303 trunk road.  The Wincanton base continues in operation and an interesting connection is maintained with one of the former Dorset operators.  Nigel Collins, great grandson of Albert Pearce of Cattistock, was (in 2004) the coaching manager for Wakes.  The newest fleet livery is cream with blue and red stripe.

Further expansion of stage routes from 2002 has brought Wakes into new territories: routes 32, 80 and 83 in the Frome area were previously operated by Leathers Coaches of Maiden Bradley, whilst route 73 to Bridport has been variously operated by Mike Halford of Bridport and Pearces of Cattistock.  Several journeys on the 73 serve Cattistock on three days a week - reinforcing the link between this Somerset operator and one of the fondly remembered country buses of Dorset.  In 2005 the operation of the 73 passed to Sureline of Portland.

A further link to another 'traditional' Somerset operator occurred in early 2007 when South West Coaches introduced service 81 hourly between Yeovil and South Petherton, initially running against Nippy Bus N10 service.  This led to the withdrawal of the Nippy Bus service from 13th August 2007.  The road to South Petherton had been served by Safeway since 1979, and prior to that by Hutchings & Cornelius.

From 26th October 2009 South West Coaches have taken over the routes and operations of Sureline of Portland, and thus establishing a presence on the Dorset coast.

Cover of Wakes timetable, circa 1960, showing Sparkford garage

List of routes from 1960s timetable above

Yeovil - Sparkford - Castle Cary - Evercreech - Shepton Mallet    daily, about every two hours

Sparkford - Lovington - Wraxall - Shepton Mallet    market service Fridays

Sparkford - Lovington - Glastonbury    market service Tuesdays

Sparkford - Lovington - Castle Cary - Wincanton     Fridays

Keinton Mandeville - Sparkford - Yeovil    Wednesdays and Saturdays

Henstridge - Templecombe - Wincanton    (ex Chinn) Wednesdays and Saturdays

Hardway - Charlton Musgrove - Wincanton   (ex Chinn)  Fridays

Wincanton - Bourton - Cucklington - Wincanton circular  (ex Chinn)  Wednesdays and Saturdays

List of routes in operation, January 2002

1                Yeovil – Sparkford – Castle Cary - Shepton Mallet                  Monday  to Saturday (8 trips)

                                    (operated for Somerset County Council as route 901 on Sundays, 4 trips)

2                Bruton – Castle Cary –Yeovil                                                     Monday to Friday (2 trips)

3                Gillingham – Wincanton – Sparkford – Yeovil                         Friday (1 trip)

4                Wincanton – Templecombe – Yeovil                                          Monday to Friday (2 trips for Marconi Systems) 

5                Babcary – South Barrow - Yeovil                                           Wednesday (1 trip)

6                Yeovil (Westfield / Preston Schools)                                       School term only

7                Yeovil - Sturminster Newton – Poole                                      Monday (1 trip)

8                Pilton - Keinton Mandeville – Yeovil                                       Friday (1 trip)

10              Ilminster - Long Load – Yeovil                                               Wednesday (1 trip)

14              Sherborne (Town Centre - Schools)                                        School term only

15              Wincanton – Henstridge – Shaftesbury - Salisbury                   Tuesday (1 trip)

18              Yeovil - Sparkford - Wincanton                                              Tuesday (1 trip)

19              Bruton – North Cadbury - Yeovil                                           Wednesday (1 trip)

19A           Bruton – Holton – Yeovil                                                        Friday only (1 trip)

21              Bruton – Shepton Mallet - Oakhill                                          School term only

22              Wincanton - Milborne Port                                                    School term only

24              Wincanton – Castle Cary – then continues to Shepton Mallet / Oakhill on schooldays

25              Buckhorn Weston – Gillingham – Wincanton                          Thursday (1 trip)

26              Wincanton – Tisbury – Warminster                                        Thursday (1 trip)

27              Gillingham – Bruton – Street                                                  Tuesday (1 trip)

28              Yeovil – Mere - Salisbury                                                     Tues (1 trip) / Sat (2 trips)

29              Milborne Port - Wincanton                                                    School term only

29              Wincanton - Milborne Port                                                    Monday to Friday (1 trip)

30              Wincanton - Gillingham – Blandford – Poole                          Thursday (1 trip)

32              Castle Cary – Shepton Mallet –Warminster - Salisbury          Tuesday/Saturday (1 trip)

33              Bruton - Frome                                                                    Wednesday/Friday (1 trip)

34              Charlton Horethorne - Bruton                                               School term only

35              Gillingham – Bruton                                                              School term only

36              Gillingham – Shaftesbury -Todber - Yeovil                            Friday (1 trip)

39              Wincanton – Gillingham – Salisbury                                      Tuesday/Friday (1 trip)

40              Yeovil – South Petherton – Taunton                                     Thursday (1 trip)

40A           Wincanton - Yeovil – South Petherton - Exeter                     Saturday (1 trip) (about 15 times a year)

51              Warminster -  Dilton Marsh                                                 Wednesday (1 trip)

 73             Maiden Newton – Bridport                                                  Monday to Saturday (4 trips)

                                          plus positioning journeys Maiden Newton - Yeovil morning and evening

80              Gillingham - Frome                                                              Wed (4 trips) / Sat (2 trips)

80              Wincanton - Bath                                                                Saturday (2 trips)

82              Mere - Warminster                                                              Friday (1 trip)

83              Mere - Salisbury                                                                 Tuesday (1 trip)

109            Wincanton – Sturminster Newton – Dorchester                   Wed / Sat(1 trip)

117            Wincanton – Marnhull - Sturminster Newton                       Monday (1 trip)

648            Wincanton – Street (Strode College)                                   College term only

          The summer 1949 timetable

with many thanks to Roger Grimley, Andrew Patenall, Peter Brown, Michael Wadman and Simon Brown for 

additional information and illustrations

Further pictures of some older Wakes vehicles in 1963 can be found here

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