Godmanchester services
(former)
| Road: | A604 (A1307) at Godmanchester |
| Previous names: | Afton |
| Services type: | Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them |
Godmanchester was on two occasions a pair of petrol stations on what became the A14, but is now the A1307.
In the 1960s the road through Godmanchester was the single carriageway A604. It would later become well known as A14 J24, and in 2019 became the A1307. Before all this, it had two petrol stations: a westbound one labelled 'filling station' and an eastbound one labelled 'garage'. The two were staggered slightly and not directly opposite.
In the 1960s, the new Little Chef built one of their first restaurants next to the eastbound garage. The garage was branded Amoco at the time.
In around 1980, the A604 was upgraded to a dual carriageway. At Godmanchester service station, the old road became the westbound exit slip for the Godmanchester junction. As a result, the westbound petrol station managed to miraculously survive completely unscathed, while the eastbound garage and restaurant were demolished and are now underneath the embankment for the flyover.
On the new eastbound entry slip, an odd piece of land was provided directly opposite the surviving service station. On some map scales, it looks like it was intended to turn this site back into a pair of petrol stations and that no buyer was found. However, on closer inspection, the land actually touches a parallel farm track and not the slip road, so it is probably not connected.
Shortly afterwards, a new Petrofina garage was built next to the Godmanchester Roundabout. This was able to serve both sides of the new A604 and the old A14 / A1198 / B1044. In 1990 there was a plan to build a Little Chef and Travelodge, but only the petrol station was ever built.
The two petrol stations were in direct competition for a while, but the original petrol station eventually closed. It was acquired by Truckers (a Norfolk House Company) and turned into a lorry park and a café called Aston Café, which had its entrance next to the new petrol station. This caused the petrol station to be known as Aston service station, although the café later became Paradise Café. It closed in 1999 and became an industrial unit. The old exit from the dual carriageway is sealed off and unrecognisable if you're not looking for it.
Meanwhile, the Petrofina garage became Total and then Shell, and is called the Godmanchester service station.
Area Map
This is an automatically generated map of the surrounding area. You can use the button on the right to switch between a map and an aerial photo. Historic maps may be available at SABRE Maps.
🗺 Grid reference: TL257704 | See GeoHack for modern layers