"Here is the clock, The Trumpton Clock. Telling the time,
     steadily, sensibly, never too quickly, never too slowly.
     Telling the time... for Trumpton!"
 

     Out in the countryside not far from Camberwick Green is the busy market town
     of Trumpton. This is the town that gives its name to the county Trumptonshire
     in which all three of Gordon Murray's fondly-recalled series are set.

     Trumpton's centrepiece is the splendid town hall and clock which sits adjacent
     to an always-bustling square complete with a big bronze statue of Queen Victoria.
     The town hall is the seat of The Mayor and his assistant Mr Troop and its magnificent
     clock is maintained by Mr Platt the Clockmaker, and kept presentable by Walter
     Harkin the Painter and Decorator. But the clock tower isn't the only memorable
     feature of the town, because the infamous Trumpton Fire Brigade must surely
     share centrestage. Captain Flack, The Pugh Twins, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert,
     Dibble and Grub would race to the assistance of Trumpton townsfolk in distress.
     They rescued The Mayor's hat from a tree, fixed the statue of Queen Victoria,
     searched for missing artists and members of their own crew, removed paint pots
     from the clock tower, rescued Mr Robinson the window cleaner, helped remove
     an old tank from the Town Hall attic, and lift broken trees and branches from
     people's property but they never once actually dealt with a real fire.

     That said, they came close on two occasions. In the episode "Telephone"
    a series of crossed-wires sends them off to Mrs Minton's house mistakenly
     expecting flames. and in "The Rag and Bone Man" they arrive just in time
     to stop Park Keeper Mr Craddock from setting fire to Chippy Minton's rocking
     horse with his savings inside. 

     So why the lack of smoke and flames? - It boils down to a tight schedule
     and budget, prohibiting such time-consuming effects work....

      

     Trumpton's thirteen episodes were produced over a short nine month period
     and broadcast ad-infinitum on through the seventies and indeed, eighties
     encouraging the illusion of there being more episodes out there than there
     actually were. The crossovers between the Trumptonshire villages blurr the
     line further. Most notably, Captain Flack's brigade perform at the bandstand
     in the park at the end of every episode - the self-same stand and park that
     feature in the 6 'o'clock Tea Dance at the end of every Chigley episode.

     Today all three Trumptonshire series are available on various home video and
     DVD formats and associated memorabilia abounds. The Hound particularly
     favours the splendid figure ranges from Robert Harrop and Royal Doulton. Keen
     collectors should also keep their eyes peeled for the original tie-in storybooks
     published by Hamlyn when the series' launched. These large format hardbacks
     feature a bounty of photographs from each episode accompanied by fabulous
     illustrations from Ken Woodward...

     Trumpton creator Gordon Murray had previously brougt us the puppet delights
     of Rubovia. After Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley came two new
     characters, Skip and Fuffy who featured on "The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop"
     before the arrival of the The Gublins...

     Animators Bura and Hardwick also famously brought us the delights of
     Toytown featuring Larry The L-L-Lamb. Meanwhile, scriptwriter Alison Prince
     had previously written the adventures of Joe...

     

 

 

     Broadcast info

     The series premiered with "The Bill Poster" on BBC1 3rd January 1967,
     and it continued to air each week for thirteen weeks, until 28th March...

 

     Current promos/tie-ins


     

     Robert Harrop figures
     Many folks will know that the three Trumptonshire series have been
     given an incredible, collectable new lease of life here in the UK,
     thanks to Robert Harrop Designs. Over the last few years they've
     produced the most extraordinary range of figures, vehicles, buildings
     and - best of all - music boxes. Knowing quite where to start is very
     difficult. The range is huge! Some folks simply collect the smaller
     figures, whilst others have grabbed at those fabulous music
     boxes and sent secondary prices soaring...

     As for The Hound, he's had a particular soft spot for the range of
     Large As Life characters. These figures have been scaled to the exact
     same size as Gordon Murray's original puppets. They may not have
     been the biggest sellers in the catalogue, but this toon fan loves 'em
     and he's snapped up every one...

     You can buy your favourite Harrop figures
    from the friendly folks at Boojog...


     
     Quaker Oats
     That most famous of millers, Windy Miller, has recently returned to our
     tv screens via an advertising campaign for Quaker Oats. The ads were
     produced by Loose Moose, through AMV BBDO Ltd, using the same
     animation technique as the original series. The only difference
     now being that Charlie Higson replaced Brian Cant for the narration.
     The playful ads also introduced new characters in the form of Molly the
     Jogger, and the rather over-exposed Uncle Guber (he's a naturist!).
     To tie-in with their popularity, Robert Harrop have introduced three
     all-new limited edition pieces - including Uncle Guber - which are
     only available to signed up members of their Collector's Club...


    
    Lithographs from Riviere Publishing
     Now these are sweet, for folks on a budget. Riviere Publishing have
     recently printed up a handsome series of Trumptonshire lithographs.
     There are seven in the set, and each measures approx. 35.5 x 28cm.
     Perfect to frame and display around your house...

    You buy these lithos online from the folks at Lollipop Animation...

 
  
     Trumpton on DVD

      Trumpton: The Complete Collection
                 Region 2 / all 13 episodes / Universal / March 2006

      Trumpton: Stories From Trumpton
                Region 2 / 8 episodes / Firefly / March 2002

      The Complete Collection
                 Trumpton / Camberwick Green / Chigley / 3 disc set / April 2003

 

     Trumpton created by Gordon Murray

     scripts:         Gordon Murray, Alison Prince
     songs:          Gordon Murray, Freddie Phillips, Alison Prince
     animation:    "Bura and Hardwick"
                         Bob Bura, John Hardwick, George Debouch,
                         Pasquale Ferrari, Colin Large, Len Palace
     sets:             Andrew Brownfoot, Margaret Brownfoot
     narration
     and voices:   Brian Cant

 

      On the web

       Trumptonshire Web
       The Trumptonshire Web. The search engines favourite and The Hound's
       too, stuffed with info and interviews with all the main creative personnel,
       production sketches, a Trumptonshire map, a cuddly toy...Well, you get
       the gist. There's a stack of information to sift through here. Informative and
       definitive, really - you won't find better!...

 
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