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Summary

By 1840 The Great Western Railway ran from London to Reading.

Monument Type(s):

• RAILWAY (Post Medieval - 1840 AD to 1890 AD)

Description

The Great Western Railway was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1835 to construct a line from London to Bristol. At 118 miles this was slightly longer than the other major trunk railway of its time. Construction of the line began in late 1835/1836, using a variety of contractors and some direct labour. The first section to be completed, from London to Maidenhead Riverside (Taplow), opened in 1838.
This was followed by the opening of the line to Twyford in July 1839, Reading in March 1840, Steventon in June 1840, Challow (also known as Farringdon Road) in July 1840, Wootton Bassett in December 1840, Chippenham in May 1841 and Bridgwater and Bath in June 1841 <9>. The whole route was completed in 1841.

The engineering of the railway was entrusted in 1833 to Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59), who was already known for his engineering projects in Bristol. More than any other railway engineer of his time he took sole responsibility for every aspect of the engineering design, from surveying the line to the detailing of buildings and structures. He sought to achieve as level a route as possible and, working from first principles, he persuaded the Directors of the GWR to adopt a broad gauge of 7ft 0¼ in rather then the standard (4ft 8½in) gauge in use on other lines. A two-track broad gauge line was 30ft wide, and this determined the span of the overbridges and other structures. Except for larger bridges such as Maidenhead Bridge, the majority of Brunel’s masonry bridges did not need to be as innovative as his works in timber and iron, and his structures followed the typical architectural idioms of his time, but they were all beautifully detailed and built, and together formed integral parts of a consistently-designed pioneering railway.

By the 1870s the growth of traffic, especially at the London end of the route, necessitated the widening of the line from two to four tracks. This was carried out in two stages, from London to Taplow in 1875- 84 and from Taplow to Didcot in 1890-3. By the time of these widenings the broad gauge was being phased out (the final conversion to standard gauge took place in 1892), and the design of the new or extended structures took this into account. However the designs were exceptionally sympathetic to Brunel’s original work in both form and detail; also in the choice of materials, although engineering brick, seldom if ever used by Brunel, began to make an appearance in 1890s. The engineers chiefly responsible for the widened lines, whose names appear on the surviving archive drawings, were William George Owen (1810-85), Lancaster Owen (1843-1911) and Edmund Olander (1834-1900) <3>.

The GWR was a major feat of engineering, both with respect to the timescales achieved for its design and construction, and for the inclusion of several significant engineering works along its length. These include the Maidenhead Viaduct, now designated as a Grade II* Listed Building and notable for the use of the widest and flattest arches in the world (Listed Building number 1117619); the Box Tunnel which was the longest tunnel in the world at the time of its opening, and the Sonning Cutting which extends over a mile in length and up to 60ft in depth <9>.

Building recording was undertaken in 2012 on a number of the original bridges erected as part of Brunel's initial construction in 1835 and 1838 <9>.

<1> Handscomb, S, 1995, Tilehurst, Page 12-20 (Bibliographic reference). SRM13019.

<2> Matthews, R, 2006, Lost Railways of Berkshire, Pages 78-79 (Bibliographic reference). SRM13418.

<3> Adams, W (ed), 1993, Encyclopedia of the Great Western Railway, Pages 171-172 (Bibliographic reference). SRM13419.

<4> infoterra, 09/09/1999, UKP054 Uk Perspectives - Maps B/1 09/09/99 1:10,000 Run 004 5512 (Aerial Photograph). SRM14358.

<5> infoterra, 09/09/1999, UKP054 Uk Perspectives - Maps B/1 09/09/99 1:10,000 Run 004 5511 (Aerial Photograph). SRM14656.

<6> infoterra, 09/09/1999, UKP054 Uk Perspectives - Maps B/1 09/09/99 1:10,000 Run 004 5510 (Aerial Photograph). SRM14655.

<7> Ove ARUP & Partners, 2009, Reading Station Area Re-development (Unpublished document). SRM14904.

<8> Foundations Archaeology, 2009, Reading Station Southern Entrance, Borough of Reading (Unpublished document). SRM14903.

<9> Wessex Archaeology, 2013, Crossrail ONW Bridge Reconstruction and Parapet Works - Historic Building Record (Unpublished document). SRM15060.

Sources

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