Information for record number MWA6914:
Site of Great Central railway

Summary The Great Central Railway, in use from 1898 to 1969. It formed part of the Manchester to London Railway link, with the terminus at Marylebone. Some remains still exist of the embankment over the London and North Western Line.
What Is It?  
Type: Railway
Period: Modern (1898 AD - 1969 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Churchover
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 51 70
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Site of Great Central Railway.
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3 The extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to Rugby and London was the last main line to be built in Britain to a new London terminus at Marylebone (1895-99). The Railway was built in 11 sections, each by a separate construction company. The Rugby to Woodford (Northants) section was built by Messrs T Oliver and Son and work commenced on 17th January 1895. The line was re-named the Great Central in 1897, and opened on 9th March 1899. The line became the London and North Eastern Railway (L.N.E.R) in 1923, and became part of British Rail in 1948. Traffic was withdrawn south of Rugby in 1966 and north of Rugby in 1969. A vast earthwork embankment was built (c1896-98) to carry the Great Central Railway between the Oxford Canal Bridge and The Birdcage Bridge (WA 6883) over the London and North Western Line and its sidings. 56 ft high and 280 ft wide at the base, the embankments required some 3,000,000 cubic yards of earth and gravel. The embankment was mostly destroyed in 1981.
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10 "The Great Central Railway Company (formed 1897) created a main Railway route from Sheffield through Nottingham and Leicester to London. The main portion or London Extension was constructed in 1898-99 from Annesley, extending via Nottingham, Leicester and Rugby to a junction with the existing Metropolitan Railway at Quainton Road. Great Central joint ownership of the Metropolitan Railway via Aylesbury and Rickmansworth ensured a route into London where a new Great Central Railway terminus was built at Marylebone. Passenger services were withdrawn between Sheffield (Woodhouse Junction) - Annesley Junction - Nottingham (Victoria) and between Rugby Central - Quainton Road - Aylesbury on the 5th September 1966. Nottingham Victoria was closed on 4th September 1967 when Rugby Central local services terminated at Notttingham (Arkwright Street). The services between Rugby Central and Arkwright Street were withdrawn on 5th May 1969."
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Rugby's Railway History
Author/originator: Elliot P H
Date: 1985
Page Number: 39
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Great Central Memories
Author/originator: Healy P H
Date: 1987
Page Number:
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Source No: 10
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Great Central Vol 3 - Fay Sets the Pace 1900-1922.
Author/originator: G. Dow
Date: 1965
Page Number:
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Source No: 9
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Great Central Vol 2 - Dominion of Watkins 1864 -1899
Author/originator: G. Dow
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Great Central Vol 1 - The Progenitors 1813-1863
Author/originator: G. Dow
Date: 1959
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Register of Closed Railways 1948-1991
Author/originator: G. Hurst
Date: 1992
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Rail Atlas of Britain
Author/originator: S. K. Baker
Date: 1978
Page Number:
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Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Regional History of Railways of Great Britain Vol 9 - The East Midlands
Author/originator: R. Leleux
Date: 1976
Page Number:
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Source No: 4
Source Type: Digital Data
Title: National Record for the Historic Environment (NRHE) also known as AMIE, formerly known as NMR
Author/originator: Historic England
Date: 2014-2016
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Source No: 4
Source Type: Digital Data
Title: Data imported from the NRHE to HERs Project
Author/originator: Historic England
Date: 2016
Page Number:
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Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 2nd edition map 1923
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1923
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument EMBANKMENT * A long ridge of earth, rocks or gravel primarily constructed to carry a roadway. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument CANAL BRIDGE * A bridge over a canal. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record