Summary

Boundary wall, around 1870, by the Great Western Railway.

Description

Boundary wall, around 1870, by the Great Western Railway.

MATERIALS: rock-faced snecked Foxwood rubble with Bath stone
dressings.

PLAN: the wall runs south-west to north-east and stands roughly parallel to the south-east of the main railway line. It encloses a part of the former GWR works containing a carriage lifting shop, now demolished.

EXTERIOR: the main stretch of the wall is approximately 155m long and is approximately 3m in height at the west end and rises to 6m at the east, retaining higher ground on the north side. The lower length of the wall is continuous uninterrupted masonry. Above, it has a series of inset rectangular panels with quoined jambs, with a continuous string course beneath, and chamfered lintels above, and ashlar coping stones. The wall contains two wide segmental arched openings with ashlar dressings, and there is a blocked doorway and window adjacent to the western opening which leads to a tunnel. The eastern end*, which forms a splayed entrance to the station, was rebuilt with reused stone in the 1970s with the panels omitted.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest, however any works which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require LBC and this is a matter for the LPA to determine.

History

The Great Western Railway, a pioneering line between London and Bristol, was completed in 1841. The little town of Swindon was adopted during the construction of the line as the epicentre for its operation, being conveniently located halfway along the line. Workshops, later expanded into the massive Swindon locomotives and carriage works, were built, along with a planned village to house staff.

When the works were rationalised in the 1980s, many of the buildings and structures were listed, including various boundary walls, illustrating the extent and divisions of the large site, and reflecting the evolving architectural aspirations of the company. One such section of wall runs along the north side of Station Road, forming part of the boundary of the site to the south of the station.

From 1864 until 1877 the Swindon works were led by Joseph Armstrong, the locomotive, carriage and wagon superintendent. During his tenure Armstrong expanded and modernised the works considerably, and by the time of his death in 1877, the GWR was the largest railway in the country with most of its manufacturing, repair facilities and general administration at the Swindon works.

The 'Hawksworth Plans' chart the development of the GWR works by period, and the 1846-1870 map shows a ‘carriage lifting shop’, annotated 1868, in the area enclosed by the wall. It is presumed that the carriage lifting shop would have been enclosed at the time it was built, however, the wall is not clearly shown until the following Hawksworth Plan, showing the 1870-1880 developments. The wall retains higher ground on its northern side. It has been truncated on the west end, and on the east end (excluded from the listing) has been rebuilt on a different angle, following the reconfiguration of the station forecourt.

Reasons for Listing

The Boundary Wall to the former Carriage Lifting Shop at the GWR Works is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* part of the Great Western Railway’s major works site at Swindon, one of the earliest, largest and most significant railway developments in the world;

* providing evidence of the historic boundary and extent of the massive site, marking the separation between industrial and public spaces.

Architectural interest:

* reflecting the architectural house-style of the company, well-constructed using local stone, and following the bay system, with a strong visual rhythm achieved through the series of blind openings.

Group value:

* with a number of other listed structures related to the GWR.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26662203

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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