railwaymen – Radnor Street Cemetery

*If there was a memorial to Peter Bremner, this is where it would be*

The common belief is that the early railwaymen who arrived in Swindon in the 1840s are mostly buried in the churchyard at St. Mark’s.

There are a great many burials in that small churchyard; so many that by the 1870s there were extreme concerns that burial space was fast running out. Drainage of the churchyard was also a problem, restricting usage of a large area. All this contributed to the long, ongoing debate about the need for a new burial ground. Eventually resolved in 1880, Radnor Street Cemetery opened in 1881 and soon became the last resting place of many of the old railwaymen.

There are many of their stories told here on the Radnor Street Cemetery blog; this is that of Peter Bremner.

Peter Bremner was born in Dundee in about 1819 and arrived in Swindon around 1848. It is possible the family came straight from France where a daughter Erskine was born in 1847. For more than 35 years Peter lived at 5 Taunton Street at the very centre of life in New Swindon.

Death of a railway official – Our readers, especially the old hands of the GWR Works, will hear with regret of the death of Mr Peter Bremner, who has occupied the position of foreman for many years past, he being one of the earliest arrivals on the establishment of the works. His kindly disposition made him many friends. The funeral will take place this (Saturday) afternoon, at 2-45, and will no doubt be largely attended.

The Swindon Advertiser, Saturday, September 18, 1886.

Funeral of Mr Peter Bremner – The funeral of the late Mr. Peter Bremner, of 5, Taunton Street, New Swindon, took place on Saturday afternoon, admidst many manifestations of the respect and esteem in which deceased was held. For 40 years Mr. Bremner, who had reached the age of 67 years, had been in the service of the GWR Company, and during a great part of that time as foreman, he, at the time of his death, being foreman of the G (Millwrights’) Shop, GWR Works, New Swindon. As a foreman, the deceased was respected by all above and below him, those under his charge especially valuing his good qualities, and he had also obtained the esteem of a large circle of friends. That this was the case was evidenced by the fact that nearly 400 persons joined in the funeral procession on Saturday, and the route was lined with spectators. Mr. F. Hemmings, of Fleet Street, New Swindon, was the undertaker, and he carried out the funeral arrangements in the most satisfactory manner. The coffin was of polished oak, with black furniture, and bore the following inscription:- “Peter Bremner, died September 15^th, 1886, aged 67 years. Through the Cross to the Crown.” On the handleplates were the words “Praise the Lord.” A number of beautiful wreaths were contributed, including one from Mrs. Swinhoe, one from Mr. S. Carton and Mr. J. Haydon as “a tribute of respect and esteem from the managers for an old and valued servant,” from Mr. and Mrs McCulloch, Mr and Mrs Batchelor; from the fellow foreman of deceased in the Locomotive Department of the GWR Works; and a magnificent artificial wreath supplied by Mr. Hemmings, from the workmen employed under the deceased. On a card attached to this wreath was the following inscription:- “In affectionate remembrance of Peter Bremner, the much respected foreman of the G Shop, GWR Works, Swindon, this wreath is placed by the workmen formerly employed under him as a mark of the general respect he merited.”

The chief mourners were:- Mr. J. Bremner (son of the deceased), Mr W.D. James (grandson in law) and Mr. E.C. Riley. In the procession were included many of the deceased’s fellow foremen, about 160 of the employes in the G Shop, and many friends. The procession included three carriages in addition to the hearse. The funeral cortege left disceased’s residence at about three o’clock, and proceeded to St. Mark’s Church, where the first portion of the burial service was conducted by the Rev. H.W. Boustead. By way of Church Place, and Cambria Bridge, the procession marched to the cemetery. There was a large number present. The remainder of the burial service having been read, the body was lowered to its last resting place, and after a final look at the coffin the procession returned to Taunton Street, where its members dispersed.

Extracts from the North Wilts Herald, Friday, September 24, 1886.

Peter Bremner died aged 67 years at 5 Taunton Street. His funeral took place on September 18 when he was buried in grave plot A1057 with his wife Annie who had died in February of that same year.

You may also like to read:

James Fairbairn – pioneer railwayman

Robert Laxon – First Secretary of the Medical Fund

Jason Johnson – a homegrown railwayman

George House – a Swindon veteran

George Hemsley – co-founder of the New Swindon Co-operative Society

The re-imagined story …

We were promised a company house when we moved to New Swindon but when we arrived we discovered they were still being built!

So we ended up in one of twelve wooden cottages built in the back of beyond.

New Swindon was referred to as a pioneer town and out at Hay Lane we certainly felt we were living on the frontier. It would never have surprised me to see a herd of buffalo come bounding across the fields with Red Indians whooping and yelling behind them.

When the young Fairbairn couple moved into the empty cottage next to ours Margaret was heavily pregnant. It was her first child, but she was remarkably calm about giving birth in such primitive conditions.

Margaret’s pains came on in the middle of the night. We could hear her moans through the thin wooden partition that separated our homes. I left my own children in their beds and went next door to see what I could do to help. The poor girl laboured for many hours and I feared for her life and that of her baby. And at the end of her travails there was not just one, but two babies. They were small and I didn’t hold out much hope for either of them, but they thrived and survived.

And those draughty wooden cottages, well they were moved to Eastcott and survived as well. The GWR hated waste!

The facts …

James Fairbairn was born in c1816 in Dundee in Scotland and was one of the early railway men to settle in Swindon. James moved first to Newcastle and then to London working for Daniel Gooch and Archibald Sturrock. He married Margaret Armstrong at St Mary, Newington on 2nd October 1841.

James Fairbairn worked as an Engine Erector and later became one of the most senior Foremen in the Works. He was one of the first subscribers to the Sick Fund in 1843 and an early member of the Mechanics’ Institution, elected to its ruling Council in 1855. He was also one of the first subscribers to the Medical Fund.

James and Margaret Fairbairn arrived in Swindon in 1842 at the very beginning of the railway transformation, before the company houses were completed. Like so many other newcomers, James and his pregnant wife Margaret were accommodated in temporary housing. In their case they were housed in buildings at the Hay Lane Station (Wootton Bassett Road).

Brunel had first considered siting the GWR workshops at Hay Lane and designed for employees a row of twelve, single storey wooden cottages erected by building contractor J.H. Gandall. However, Daniel Gooch considered that the Swindon location was more suitable and that is where the workshops were eventually built.

Conditions at the Hay Lane cottages were basic and it was there that Margaret Fairbairn gave birth to twins George and Elizabeth Ann in the Spring of 1842. The babies were baptised at Wroughton parish church on June 5, perhaps they were not expected to survive. George followed his father into the railway works as an engine fitter. He married Catherine Gosling and the couple had one daughter. George died at his home in Havelock Terrace in 1892 aged 49. He is buried in Radnor Street cemetery in plot B2070. His sister Elizabeth Ann married and moved away. Her husband, Charles While, a roll turner, moved to Swindon with the opening of the Rolling Mills in the 1860s. The couple lived at addresses in Workington and Sheffield before settling in Lancashire where Elizabeth died in 1912.

James and Margaret Fairbairn lived at various addresses in New Swindon, including 12 Reading Street, No 2 Fleetway Terrace, 25 Fleet Street and finally at 20 Harding Street where they both died in 1895. Margaret died in March aged 78 and James three months later in June aged 80.

Tag: railwaymen

Peter Bremner – railway pioneer

James Fairbairn – pioneer railwayman