| Leigh Delamere Services | |
|---|---|
 The eastbound services in 2008 | |
  Leigh Delamere Services Location within Wiltshire | |
| Information | |
| County | Wiltshire |
| Road | M4 |
| Coordinates: | 51°30′41″N 2°09′34″W / 51.5115°N 2.1595°W |
| Operator | Moto Hospitality |
| Date opened | 3 February 1972[1] |
Leigh Delamere services is a motorway service area on the M4 motorway, one mile west of Junction 17, between Bristol and Swindon (close to Chippenham and Malmesbury). It takes its name from the adjoining village of Leigh Delamere. It is one of Europe's largest service stations. The service area is owned by Moto Hospitality.
History
It was planned to open in January or February 1972, run by Esso Tavernas; other sites of Esso were Birch Services, Washington services, Woolley Edge services, Southwaite Services. The site cost £650,000.
It opened on Monday 3 February 1972, with the largest petrol station in the UK. It served petrol only for the first eight weeks. At opening, it had 188 restaurant seats and 60 cafeteria seats.[2][3]
In popular culture
The station is mentioned in The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and is supposedly named after the mother of an associate of the main villain. It features several times in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey, although scenes purportedly at Leigh Delamere were filmed at Cardiff Gate services in Wales.
References
- ↑ Motorway Services Trivia – Chronology Archived 2 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 21 January 2009
- ↑ The People Sunday 2 January 1972, page 10
- ↑ Reading Evening Post Monday 3 January 1972, page 7
External links
Media related to Leigh Delamere Services at Wikimedia Commons
