HISTORY
1889 – 1964
“Tetbury has been isolated and in shadow for so long. The railway will bring us into contact with the outer world and will break off some of the antiquated theories and prejudices which have hampered us for so long.” The Tetbury Advertiser, October 1887
The first train to run on the Tetbury to Kemble branch line was on 2 December 1889. It followed a long campaign by local people, led by Col. Nigel Kingscote, to persuade the Great Western Railway that there was a market for a railway service.
Over the succeeding years the branch line was extended with stations and halts at Trouble House, Culkerton, Rodmarton Platform and Jackaments Bridge Halt. It became a vital lifeline for the local community.
END OF THE TETBURY BRANCH LINE
Like many other branch lines, the Tetbury to Kemble line was closed in 1964 as part of the infamous Beeching Cuts.
1996 – 2016
By the mid-1990s, Tetbury’s rail lands, which were still owned by British Railways had fallen into an utterly-neglected state. The site of the station, the old rail yard and the railway track bed were all mostly overgrown by vegetation.
The last remaining railway building, the old goods shed, having lost its last business tenant years before, was in a parlous state with its windows boarded up, the roof leaking, and ivy and rainwater penetrating the walls.
With uncertainty still surrounding the rail lands, King Charles III took an interest in their future. He invited British Railways (BR), Tetbury Town Council (TTC), Cotswold District Council (CDC) and the Feoffees to meet to try to find a mutually agreeable solution.
The parties met the Prince (as was) at the old station yard, then gathered at the nearby Royal Oak pub, where BR agreed to sell the rail lands to the Feoffees – a charitable Tetbury organisation dating back to the 17th century. Tetbury Town Council would rent the land from the Feoffees for a peppercorn rent. CDC would develop the North end of the goods yard as a car park.
RENOVATIONS
How do you use a large piece of left-over Victorian industrial architecture in the 21st century? The question vexed people’s minds in the town for nearly 20 years.
There were feasibility studies, surveys, proposals, counter-proposals. It seemed to be as difficult to find a future for the Shed as it had been to attract the GWR a century earlier. Whilst The Shed languished, the surrounding rail lands flourished at the hands of the Feoffees, Tetbury Town Council and Tetbury Rail Lands Regeneration Trust.
TTC had acquired the area running from the Malmesbury Road to the edge of Preston Park in 1997 and set about attractively landscaping the areas either side of the Shed. The Feoffees created the Millennium Green on the site of the cattle market and Long Stay car park. Then, in 2011, The Goods Shed’s continuing deterioration literally became a burning issue when a fire severely damaged the south end windows and roof.
Although few people realised it at the time, the 2011 fire proved to be the turning point for the Shed. Rather than just making good the damaged section, Tetbury Town Council took the opportunity to completely weatherproof its exterior. With new office doors and windows and a fresh paint job, The Goods Shed was able for the first time in 50 years to show off its potential.
In September 2013, the Trust and the town council opened The Shed’s doors to the public for National Heritage Open Day. The Trust showed visitors its proposed plan for the Shed and invited them to consider joining up. By this time, a quantity surveyor had costed the necessary building work at £489,000. The Trust’s accounts for 2012 showed an income of £0. Undaunted, several new faces showed up at the next monthly meeting. Three of the newcomers volunteered to put on ‘Pamper Evening’ and the revived Goods Shed Project was off and running.
With hindsight, the Trust’s most valuable move was to open up the Shed for events as it stood. Energised by people’s reactions to the building’s clear potential and the generous response to their fundraising and planning activities, The Goods Shed group mounted dozens of events in 2014 and 2015, from concerts to car boot sales.
Phase 1 of the project, in 2016, comprised the main structural work on The Shed , needed to create the ‘shell’ in which the Trust installed the Arts Centre equipment and facilities. The cost of this phase was over £600,000, over half of which was met by Tetbury Town Council from public works funding and ‘Section 106’ monies from housing developments in Tetbury.
Between December 2013 and December 2016, the Trust raised over £200,000 in sponsorship, grant awards and direct income from fundraising events. Around half the total was given by charitable trusts, which responded to the project with great enthusiasm. It meant that the Trust and TTC were able to complete Phase One, refurbishing and extending the shed’s structure.
The railway carriage situated behind the Goods Shed was kindly donated to us by Leicestershire County Council and was originally built for the Finnish railway. The carriage is 60 feet long and two feet wider than a conventional British Rail carriage. It was installed in its current location in May, 2018 and is used for a variety of jobs. The seated section is normally used as an extension to the cafe and offers a cosy place for cakes and coffees. The other end is more open and has a desk, table and sofa. It has been used as an office, a craft workshop area and frequently serves as our “Green Room” for visiting artists and musicians.
One hundred and twenty-seven years after it opened for business and 20 years after it was almost lost to the town forever, Tetbury’s sturdy GWR Goods Shed embarked on a completely new role as a hub for community, creativity, and culture.