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The Railway By David Hunt |
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In railway terms the line through Hullavington is
relatively new, having been built by the Great Western Railway over the period
1897 – 1903. Its purpose was to quicken the service from London to South Wales
via the Severn Tunnel. Hullavington station was opened in 1903 and closed in
1961 along with most of the other stations on the line between Wootton Bassett
and Winterbourne north Bristol. Only Badminton lingered on for a few more years
because of its obligation to serve the Badminton estate. Some twenty years ago I spent an evening with the late Mrs Neal of Newtown (wife of Dick Neal). She told me that her family had come to the village because her father was an engineer involved with the building of the railway. Apparently he had previously worked on the Manchester Ship Canal. She allowed me to take copies of several photographs that she had in her possession featuring the building of the line and three are reproduced. The first shows a large group of workers involved with the digging of the line although the actual location is unknown. A couple of the men with crosses above their heads were men actually related to Mrs Neal. The man forth from the left was John Neal the father of Dick Neal, her future father in law, and the person far right was his brother Albert Neal. The second photograph is a picture of a locomotive that Mrs Neal believed was used when constructing the line. Again she could identify a couple of people on the engine. Note the young lad with only one arm on the front of the locomotive. His name was Robert Smith while the man on the footplate was Jack Smith. |
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The second photograph is a picture of a locomotive that Mrs Neal believed was used when constructing the line. Again she could identify a couple of people on the engine. Note the young lad with only one arm on the front of the locomotive. His name was Robert Smith while the man on the footplate was Jack Smith. |
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| Again the third picture is of a locomotive believed to have been used in the building of the line and the person standing in the front was Harry Coombes, an uncle of Mrs Neal. He was described as having been a rope runner. |
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The building of the railway had a dramatic affect on the
village school. For the duration of the building of the railway a navvy
settlement was established close to Kingway Bridge and the children of the
settlement attended the school in Hullavington. A former headmaster, Mr Priest,
allowed me access to the school diaries of the period 1897 – 1903 and I went
through making notes wherever reference was made with regard the railway
children and the settlement. These notes I will put together shortly as they
make extremely interesting reading. David Hunt |
