The Lady Wimborne Bridge (London and South Western Railway Bridge 77) is a former railway bridge built in 1853, and now a listed building. Its highly ornate design reflects the power of landowners over British railway companies in the mid-nineteenth century. Built shortly after the railway came to the town of Wimborne in Dorset, England, it is now a Grade II listed structure. [1]
Although the Southampton and Dorchester Railway through Wimborne was authorized before Sir John Guest, 1st Baronet of Dowlais (one of the greatest iron founders of the time, his ironworks being situated in Dowlais, South Wales) took ownership of Canford Manor in 1846, [2] later negotiations with the company (of which Guest was a director) led after his death in 1852 to the replacement of the original structure with another over what became the carriage drive to the house. [3] The bridge was until recently attributed in the on-line version of the official listing to Charles Barry Jr, the highly regarded English architect of the mid to late 19th century, and eldest son of Sir Charles Barry, who was responsible for the design for the Lady Wimborne Cottages, serving as workers cottages on the Canford Estate. [4] However the latter, renowned as the architect of the Palace of Westminster, was responsible for the extensive alterations to the manor around the time of the bridge’s construction and was in fact the designer. [5]
Its features are typical of the highly ornate gothic style, adorned with pinnacles, crocketting, crests and the heraldry of Sir (Josiah) John Guest. The original plans drawn by Sir Charles Barry in 1853, however, were partially simplified by the time of construction.
The bridge is probably named after the first Lady Wimborne (1847-1927), although it was her mother-in-law, Lady Charlotte Guest, Sir John's wife, who was responsible for financing the bridge's construction around 1853-54, after her husband died. [6] It is not clear when the bridge became known by its present name: contemporary newspaper reports from the 1850s do not identify it in this way.
The last train passed over the bridge on 3 May 1977, following the recovery of equipment from Wimborne station which had just closed to all traffic.
Although the railway is long gone, steep steps allow pedestrians to climb the embankment to the top and follow a footpath to the river or, in the other direction, along an informal path towards the site of the former Wimborne Junction and engine shed. Unfortunately the informative interpretation board located on the ground by the bridge has been removed.
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter and Plymouth, and to Padstow, Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading.
Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent owners, Sir John Bankes and Dame Mary, had remained loyal to Charles I.
Charles Barry Jr. (1823–1900) was an English architect of the mid-late 19th century, and eldest son of Sir Charles Barry. Like his younger brother and fellow architect Edward Middleton Barry, Charles Jr. designed numerous buildings in London. He is particularly associated with works in the south London suburb of Dulwich.
Sir Josiah John Guest, 1st Baronet, known as John Josiah Guest, was a British engineer, entrepreneur and politician.
Viscount Wimborne, of Canford Magna in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest, later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the Mabinogion, the earliest prose literature of Britain. Guest established the Mabinogion as a source literary text of Europe, claiming this recognition among literati in the context of contemporary passions for the chivalric romance of King Arthur and the Gothic movement. The name Guest used for the book was derived from a mediaeval copyist's error, already established in the 18th century by William Owen Pughe and the London Welsh societies.
Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, 2nd Baronet, DL was a British industrialist and a member of the prominent Guest family.
Sully is a village in the community of Sully and Lavernock, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles southwest of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.
Colonel George Thomas Clark was a British surgeon and engineer. He was particularly associated with the management of the Dowlais Iron Company. He was also an antiquary and historian of Glamorgan.
Canford School is a public school. Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest schools by area.
The Castleman Trailway is a footpath in Southern England. Portions of the trailway are also used as a cyclepath but the middle section from East Wimborne to the River Allen bridge is not cyclable.
Canford Magna is a village in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The village is situated just south of the River Stour and lies between the towns of Wimborne Minster and Poole. The village was significantly developed by the Guest family of Canford Manor, featuring a mixture of thatch and brick buildings, now mostly serving as residences for teaching staff. The western edge of the village merges with the residential suburb of Merley and the village community of Oakley.
Ashington is a hamlet in Dorset, England. It is in the unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, between the village of Corfe Mullen and the market town of Wimborne Minster.
Oakley is a village community in Dorset, England. Sitting just south of the River Stour it borders the suburb of Merley and the village of Canford Magna to the East and South and the Town of Wimborne 2 km to the North. The B3073, which links Wimborne and Poole, runs through the community.
The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received parliamentary authority in 1845 and opened in 1847.
The Guest family is a British family that has been prominent in business and politics since the 18th century. It was involved in the British iron and steel industry, particularly the Dowlais Ironworks in Wales, which later became part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. Hereditary titles held by members of the family include Baron Wimborne, Baron Ashby St Ledgers, and Viscount Wimborne, all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Wimborne was a railway station in Wimborne Minster in the county of Dorset in England. Open from 1 June 1847 to 2 May 1977, it was sited just north of the River Stour in what is still Station Road. Built for the Southampton and Dorchester Railway, the station was operated from the start by the London and South Western Railway, which took over ownership in 1848. It was later operated by the Southern Railway from 1923 to 1947 and, from 1948, by the Southern Region of British Railways, which traded as British Rail from 1965.
Dowlais is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, over 7,000 people, the works being the largest in the world at one stage.
Queen Charlotte's Cottage is an 18th-century cottage orné within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames in London. It is named after Queen Charlotte, who was responsible for its construction. Dating from 1772, the cottage is Grade II* listed. The cottage is maintained by Historic Royal Palaces, and is open to visitors.
Frances Charlotte Thesiger, Viscountess Chelmsford,, styled as the Lady Chelmsford until 1921, was a British aristocrat and Vicereine of India.