Bathwick Covered Way (MLN110624/10629), Bathwick, Bath and North East Somerset

Summary

Two short tunnels and connecting retaining walls, built in 1839-40, in a classical style. They are part of the Great Western Railway in Bath, and were designed by I.K. Brunel.

Description

MATERIALS: Bath stone ashlar throughout, with limited engineering brick patching.

DESCRIPTION: a set of railway structures that are in three distinct parts:

Northern tunnel under Raby Mews/Sydney Mews:
The north (low mileage) portal has a flattened horseshoe arch, string course and parapet. It abuts the retaining walls that extend north to Sydney Wharf Bridge, MLN1 10622 (separately listed at Grade II) and the rear of buildings on Sydney Wharf (also separately listed at Grade II). A single-storey C20 building has been built up on top and behind the parapet (separately listed as part of No.18 Raby Place). The south portal is similar, but without abutting buildings.

Retaining walls between northern tunnel and the southern tunnel:
Both walls have a battered curve. The east (Down) wall has a string course and continuous parapet. The west (Up) wall is lower and has a parapet of alternating balustraded and solid panelled sections.

Southern tunnel, under Bathwick Hill:
The north (low mileage) portal has a flattened horseshoe arch and plain coping just above the voussoirs, and no parapet. There is brick patching to the left arch and the spandrel above. The south (high mileage) portal is more architectural, with a flattened horseshoe tunnel mouth and voussoirs rising from a plinth, flanked by piers articulated as broad pilasters. There is a stepped cornice above a panelled parapet with moulded coping. The wing walls are plain ashlar.

History

Great Western Railway

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, the London and Birmingham (112 miles) and considerably longer than other pioneering lines. Construction of the line began in 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, and thereafter openings followed in eight phases culminating the completion of the whole route in 1841.

The engineering of the railway was entrusted in 1833 to Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59), who was already known for his 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 0¼in 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 in the case of larger bridges such as Maidenhead Bridge and Gatehampton Viaduct, Brunel’s masonry bridges were not as innovative as his works in timber and iron, and his buildings followed the typical architectural idioms of his time, but together they formed integral parts of a consistently-designed pioneering railway.

Although he left no written statement concerning his design concept for the line, it can be inferred from its design and from the way it was described when opened that part of his vision was a line engineered according to picturesque principles. This influenced his selection of the route and the design of structures along it. For reasons of cost, but also because it helped blend the railway to the landscape, he used local materials for bridges and other structures, ranging from stock brick at the London end of the line, to red brick, Bath stone east of Bath and Blue Lias stone west of Bath. This intentional variety was remarked on by contemporaries, for instance in J C Bourne, 'The History and Description of the Great Western Railway' (1846). Surviving contract drawings for bridges and other structures on the Bath section of the line carry the signature of I K Brunel, reflecting his involvement with every aspect of the project. The Resident Engineer was G E Frere (1807-87), assisted by G T Clark (1809-98) and Michael Lane (1802-68), but their individual contributions have not been identified.

Bathwick Covered Way

The line through Bath required some complicated engineering. South of Sydney Gardens, Brunel conceived and designed two short tunnels and adjoining retaining walls to take the line under Bathwick Hill towards Dolmeads Viaduct. He called this the ‘Bathwick Covered Way’, a name that reflects the likelihood that it was constructed by the 'cut and cover' method of surface excavation, rather than by tunnelling as elsewhere on the route. This would have been necessary because the crown of the tunnels came so close to the surface of the land, which is evident in the way the roadway rises up and over the northern tunnel. It is possible that Brunel would have done without tunnels completely if it had not have been for the interests of landowners. Bathwick Hill was already developed and Brunel was forced to demolish and rebuild No. 18 Raby Place (separately listed at Grade II) under which his route passed.

The works were at least partly complete by early 1840, and the first train between Bath and Chippenham ran in June 1841. There have been no major works since, but in places considerable masonry patching.

Reasons for Listing

Bathwick Covered Way, Bath, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: an early example of a railway structure dating from the pioneering phase in national railway development;
* Rarity: a rare grouping of tunnels and retaining walls to survive intact from the earliest phase of the Great Western Railway;
* Historic association: it is constructed to a design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel who is widely perceived as one of the most important transport engineers and architects of the C19.

External Links

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