Brick Boundary Wall To Former Gwr Works (North)

The brick boundary wall to the former Great Western Railway (GWR) works, located on Rodbourne Road in Swindon, was built between 1870 and 1880. This retaining and boundary wall is made of red brick with a blue brick plinth. It measures 90 meters in length running north-south along Rodbourne Road and 140 meters east-west parallel to the rear of Hawkins Street. The wall features red brick laid in alternating courses of headers and stretchers, with buttresses at 5-meter intervals on the east and south sides. Metal signs with GWR lettering are still attached to parts of the northern section. The buttresses and angled brick coping are made of blue engineering bricks. The inside of the former GWR works site is approximately 4 meters higher than Rodbourne Road, and the wall serves as a retaining wall, with the blue brick plinth at its base. The side facing Rodbourne Road stands 8 meters high, with the top 4 meters made of red brick, featuring inset panels and blue brick details above the 4-meter blue brick plinth. This wall was constructed as part of the northern and western boundary of the GWR works, as indicated by the 'Hawksworth Plans'.