A History

[Flashheart]

Is that a Beret he is wearing? Is he military? Why is he pointing at the gate pillar with his pointy stick?

Don't you just love it when answers create more questions?...

[Hitchinred]

Is that a Beret he is wearing? Is he military? Why is he pointing at the gate pillar with his pointy stick?

Don't you just love it when answers create more questions?...

All the answers can be found in an article in the second edition of Swindon Heritage magazine. Something to do with Ordnance Survey I believe.

[pauld]

Is that a Beret he is wearing? Is he military?

Nah, that's Frank Spencer

[Talk Talk]

Ah. The plot thickens! I am like a dog with a burglar's arse on this one 

Right then, some more investigation. Here we have GWR's 1935 map of the railway works:



The canal has nearly been filled in completely. The gates are just above the building marked as "Motor Shed". Si's picture was taken in March 1953 so this is twenty years before that. Note the line of trees above the carriage shop which are part of the "Recreation Ground".

Let's go back to 1899:



Here you can see that the canal is still intact, including the locks and the keeper's cottage further north. The GWR has not yet bought the land for the carriage shop. This is the original size of the recreation ground, note the line of trees. The footbridge over the canal leads to the exact location of gates which are at the corner of the recreation ground and the railway works. There is a footpath that leads across the rec at the same angle that the gates are to the canal. This strongly suggests that they existed before the works.

So perhaps they were originally the gates to something else? Well if we zoom out slightly:



There is a collection of buildings called South Brook at the top right. Was this the original instigator of the gates? Was it a farm or an estate perhaps? Did they subsequently sell off the land?

Let's go further back to the first Ordnance Survey map of 1828:



The railways have only just arrived here. No railway works, no Swindon New Town, just fields. South Brook is here, but there is no sign of a path or road where the gates are (the one further north is Iffley Road, leading to what is now Bruce Street Bridges).

I think that a map between the two (somewhere around 1860) would provide the final answer as to when the gates appeared and what they were for. However, I would dispute that the GWR made them and that they were in fact for the park and they were just incorporated into the new entrance for the carriage shop. If you look at the style of railing on the left and then compare it to the gate in this picture:



You can see that the gates are finished much more finely. The railings are typical railway style with curved tops and no embellishment. It also looks as though the railings have been attached to the gates with brackets. This is even more obvious in Si's picture:



I rest my case for now 

[Honkytonk]

Look at the angle of them compared to the road/fenceline in that photo as well. There's very little to suggest the gates were built at the same time as the fence. Definitely seem like an earlier feature that have been incorporated into the fence.

[Reg Smeeton]

It's a good case...I'm back with leaning towards a park feature.  Here's a little beauty...

 
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/11085038.Hill_figures_brought_to_life_for_first_time_in_centuries/

[Talk Talk]

I found this on an old map web site. It's not very clear but it's 1889 and shows how it was before the recreation area was created:



So the footpath existed before the rec and presumably so did the footbridge over the canal from the towpath on the south west side. The works must have expanded in the ten years between 1889 and 1899 to move up to the corner where the gates are. It doesn't answer the question of when they appeared but it's interesting!

The owners of Eastcott Lodge must have seen their doom coming at this point (it was still there in 1899 - have a look at the South Brook map where it was nearly overwhelmed by the works, they must have been towering over them!)

[Talk Talk]

It's a good case...I'm back with leaning towards a park feature.  Here's a little beauty...
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/11085038.Hill_figures_brought_to_life_for_first_time_in_centuries/

Oooh, are you going to the lecture Reg? I can't as I am away for the weekend from tomorrow lunch time.

[Talk Talk]

South Brook was indeed a farm.

FERNDALE is a residential area situated approximately one mile from Swindon town centre, but how many people realise that this is where Swindon’s oldest pub building is?

The Southbrook Inn, thought to be older than the George, is a well-hidden pub tucked away in Southbrook Street, Ferndale. The pub, now a grade II listed building, was once The Southbrook Farmhouse and the only building in the area - until the expansion of Swindon in 1908 meant that Southbrook Farm and the surrounding land were included in the borough. The farmhouse was converted to a pub in 1956 and has been serving locals ever since.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/community/neighbourhood/ferndale/guide/

I didn't even know that the Southbrook Inn existed, is it still open? Has anybody frequented it?

[@mwooly63]

Yes its open. Workmate goes in all the time. Not been in myself for a few years

[Bogus Dave]

I used to go there all the time when I was little. They had an ace slide & play area that was like a tree

[RobertT]

South Brook was indeed a farm.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/community/neighbourhood/ferndale/guide/

I didn't even know that the Southbrook Inn existed, is it still open? Has anybody frequented it?

The main bar is like a village pub.  Has a hall on the side which is a bit bland but seems a nice enough place whenever I have been in.

[Ardiles]

Obvious point, I know, but I love the way that the modern day arterial road network of a large town like Swindon pretty much follows the line of the country lanes existed hundred of years ago, running between the villages that now make up the suburbs.

[jayohaitchenn]

Fuck me. It's a fucking gate.

[ronnie21]

Yep, it is quite a popular pub, run by a great couple - Bob and Gina.  Do some great meals in there, decent food and value for money.  Bob tried to get permission to extend the pub's kitchen but got refused as the building is, in fact, listed!