Bristol and Exeter Railway

This material is held atLSE Library Archives and Special Collections

Scope and Content

Papers relating to the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company, comprising printed letters to shareholders, reports of directors, reports in newspapers and notices of requirement of land to build the railway, addressed to Charles Fox and Sarah Fox of Wellington, Somerset.

Administrative / Biographical History

When Parliament gave permission for the Great Western Railway in 1835, Bristol merchants began to argue for an extension of the proposed line to Exeter. Permission was granted in 1836 and Isambard Brunel (1806-1859) was appointed engineer. The line was completed in 1844. Over the next nine years branches were opened to Clevedon, Tiverton and Yeovil. Other branches followed in the 1860s (Chard, Portishead, Wells, Barnstaple and Minehead). The Bristol & Exeter Railway was considered to be a reasonable financial success and between 1844 and 1874 the annual dividend was 4.5 per cent.

Arrangement

One volume

Access Information

OPEN

Other Finding Aids

No further list required

Archivist's Note

Output from CAIRS using template 14 and checked by hand on May 8, 2002

Separated Material

Papers relating to the Company are held by the Public Record Office (Ref : RAIL 75, 80) and Bristol Record Office (Ref: 12167 (31-35)). See National Register of Archives for further details.

Conditions Governing Use

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