Chain Test House is a Grade II* listed building in the Swindon local planning authority area, England. First listed on 18 May 1984. A Victorian Industrial building. 1 related planning application.
Chain Test House
- WRENN ID
- solitary-postern-snow
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Swindon
- Constituency
- Swindon South MP: Heidi Alexander (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 18 May 1984
- Type
- Industrial building
- Period
- Victorian
- Address
- Chain Test House, Rodbourne Road, Central Swindon North
- OS grid reference
- SU 143 850
- Coordinates
- 51.56413, -1.79454
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Chain Test House is a metal testing facility built in 1873, featuring a long single-storey brick structure that is attached to an older building, resulting in only one external wall. It has a wrought iron roof and sash windows. The testing room, located at the south end, is illuminated from above, while the chain tester is situated in the floor of the corridor to the north. The testing room retains many original fittings, creating a distinctly Victorian atmosphere. The Ransome's chain tester, dating from 1874, has a hydraulic pull capacity of 130 tons and is likely the oldest working machine of its kind in the country. Additionally, there is a later tensile tester and an Izod's Patent tester made by Avery's. This facility houses a remarkable collection of Victorian testing machinery in its original setting and is still operational, making it extremely rare. It is part of the significant expansion of the works during the 1870s and is one of the key industrial buildings at the Great Western Railway works.
Local climate
Chain Test House receives an average of 790 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 59% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 56% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 36 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 65% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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