Twerton Station

Twerton station was built in the Jacobethan (Tudor or Gothic) style and opened on 16th December 1840. This same style was used on the tunnel entrances as well as the buttresses on the viaduct. Every day, eleven services ran each way between Bath and Bristol and four trains a day stopped at Twerton in each direction. The postal address, ‘Twerton-on-Avon’, came into use in about 1876 and on the 1st August 1899, the station was renamed Twerton-on-Avon. Both of these were measures to prevent confusion with Tiverton in Devon.

Twerton station (1900)

The station closed on 2nd April 1917 as a temporary economy measure during the First World War. After the war, because passenger numbers had reduced due to the introduction of electric trams that terminated in Twerton, the station was never reopened.

The view of Twerton High Street from the platform (1905)

In 1923, the footbridge was removed to Shrivenham and in 1929, Oldfield Park station was opened.  This was the final nail in the coffin of Twerton station. In 2002 there was some discussion as to whether Twerton station could be reopened as a compulsary stop as part of measures to slow the trains down on their entry to Bath but this idea was rejected.

In May 2006, due to a lack of tenants, the station was boarded up. Debris in the building due to squatters built up to such an extent that in February 2008, Network Rail began a clean-up process. Network Rail are currently in the process of deciding what to do with the Grade II listed building.

An old wive's tale?

Between 1960 and 1975, Adrian Vaughan worked as a signalman at Clink Road junction, Frome and then at Witham a bit further west. During his time there, he met lots of ancient railwaymen who told him their stories. Adrian writes,

"Concerning Twerton, back in the 1880s, there was a station master and his wife living above the offices and he made his wife very unhappy by spending so much time most nights, patrolling about the signal boxes on hs patch and just not being with her. He came back home after a patrol and saw something hanging from the platform canopy. It was his wife. She had hung herself while he'd been out. Her ghost is said to haunt the station building."

Twerton Viaduct

If you have ever driven down the Lower Bristol Road through Twerton you will not have missed the 585 metres long viaduct that carries the railway through Twerton. The viaduct is an impressive structure that cuts off the view of Twerton from the river and the river from Twerton! The viaduct was bombed in the war and if you look carefully you can see where the brickwork was restored.

What are the doorways in the viaduct for?

In the viaduct are a number of two-roomed units. No-one knows the purpose of these spaces. Some speculate that they were dwellings built to replace cottages pulled down to build the railway.  The theory is that these dwellings were abandoned due to the noise and cramped living space. Others point out that because they had front and rear entrabces - i.e. one in each room - that they do not have a bedroom and therefore could not have been used as dwellings. Adrian Vaughan, Brunel historian, is of the opinion that they were intended as waiting rooms or offices.

The two fireplaces in each unit discharged into a flue which rose to the ceiling, turned 90 degrees, ran horizontally to the base of a chimney rising like a turret or tower up the retaining wall. It is unlikely that such a flue would have been effective in removing smoke.

Today, the rooms are used to house the Archway cafe and for industrial storage.

Twerton Tunnel

There are two tunnels that go through the Carrs Woodland hillside in Twerton. They are called the Twerton Long Tunnel and Twerton Short Tunnel respectively. The long tunnel is 242 metres long. The castle butresses were designed to give passengers on the Great Western Railway a feeling of grandeur and elegance. Today the hillside above the tunnel is Carrs Woodland nature reserve and is a popular spot for railway enthusiasts.

Brunel's contract drawing of Twerton tunnel (West)

A view of the tunnel (1975)

A photo of a train coming out of Twerton Tunnel (2007)

kyalien - August 26, 2008 Thank you so much for this article. I love the history of Twerton so much and the viaduct and railhouse are two impressive features of the village.

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