The unknown Brunel relic with links to a former train station

The station closed more than 50 years ago

Bristol’s newest railway station, which reopened 60 years after originally closing, opened last month, forming part of wider plans to bring back an old train line with two further stations to be built. Ashley Down station will be followed by new stations in Henbury and in North Filton, but other stations, some of which have been lost to time, were in talks to become part of the network once again.

One station, which opened in 1898, was subject to plans for the former station to reopen after it was closed in 1970. St Anne’s Park station has been long gone but the remnants of the platforms which once welcomed passengers can still be found. Despite little news regarding the fate of the bid to reopen the station, there is a story behind the station even more hidden to the public eye.

The train line, which runs through the former St Anne’s station, forms part of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s train line, connecting London to Bristol. Before the station opened near the end of the 19th century, tunnels were excavated in order to create the train line which is still in use today.

Two massive boulders, known as the Apple Stone and the Pear Stone, were removed from the tunnels in 1837. Whilst the story remains to be confirmed about the history of the boulders, one account of a story suggests that the Apple Stone was preserved due to a man’s tragic death, the two boulders were put onto plinths and sat on either side of the train lines.

The boulders, which turned out to be made of sandstone, were preserved by Brunel himself and remained near the site of the Great Western Railway Tunnel No.1. It would remain near the train station even after the station closed in 1970.

Both boulders now are located at the University of Bristol, within a garden on Cantock’s Close. A plaque was installed next to the Apple Stone, which confirmed that the stones were given to the university in 1983.

The plaque reads: “This stone is one of two large nodules of sandstone found in 1837 during the excavation of the G.W.R. Tunnel No.1 near St Anne’s and preserved there by I.K. Brunel. Presented to the University of Bristol by British Rail (Western Region) in April 1983.”

Nowadays, the two boulders are largely ignored by students attending the university, and there is still no plaque near the Pear Stone. The former St Anne’s Park train station remains to be given the go-ahead, if ever, but even if the train station is not brought back to its former glory, a Brunel relic will mean that the station is not forgotten.

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