station in London, Maiden Lane, to Peterborough. In succeeding years the company opened throughout from Kings Cross to Doncaster, and railway main lines and branches proliferated. At St Neots the route taken by the railway lay well to the east of the town, farthest away from the river and from Eaton Socon. The railway enabled the transport of goods and minerals: manufactured goods outward, and heavy commodities inward: coal, lime for improving soil, and cattle feed. Coal in particular: the price of coal often reduced by 80% the day after a town acquired a railway connection. In addition the railway enabled passenger travel in general, and for the first time people of all classes were able to travel, and cheap excursions to seaside resorts were arranged, as well as to the Great Exhibition of 1851. Unfortunately for Eaton Socon, the rise of the railways led to the extinction of the stagecoach trade that had brought so much prosperity to the area. Long distance stagecoach travel was quickly wiped out, and stagecoach operators ran nothing more than feeder services. Moreover the river traffic too declined steeply; Bedford and St Neots merchants and farmers no longer required river transport for their materials, and employment on the water too was greatly reduced. Eaton Socon had little industry to fall back on, and from this time it declined. Employment was limited to agriculture, and to the industrial work available in St Neots. The village has a conservation area centred on listed buildings including modest thatched cottages along the Great North Road and side roads such as Peppercorns Lane and School Lane. Post-war development The population of Eaton Socon remained without much change until the late 1950s. At this time the Government were concerned about overcrowding and poor accommodation in London, and a number of initiatives grouped under the name London Overspill was implemented. Large-scale increase in housing was planned in Eaton Socon, and this was followed by further schemes in later decades. This resulted in most of the land between the Great North Road and the A1 being infilled. The development was not limited to housing, but included light industry, which was established at first on the Little End estate, and later elsewhere in Eaton Socon. Following the enactment of the Education Act 1944, there was a great expansion in secondary education for all pupils. It was not until 1960 that a secondary school