In February 1846 the Directors of the S.E. Railway, after obtaining parliamentry endorsement to spend £500,000 on the venture, bought 185 acres at Ashford for the locaction of their "Locomotive Establishment". Repair and maintenance work started in early 1847 and the first locomotives were produced in 1848.

The Locomotive workshops were the first main area of the site to be developed. As finally developed by 1912 the workshops alone comprised 1200ft (370m) by 200ft (60m). This range was composed of three main structural elements running roughly west to east and each element was developed over four phases. These phases seem to be:

1) The original works of 1847/8 400ft in length
2) c.1860 second phase of 230ft in length
3) Late 19th extension 250ft
4) Final 1909/12 alterations adding 155ft to each end

(1-2)


The whole complex has 4 phases of development:

1) 1847-1871: Tthe locomotive works were built in 1847, consisiting of 25 bays of locomotice workshops in the main range, with an adjoining tender and Smith's shop and engine shed. A gatehouse and lodge were constructed along New Town Road to form the entrance to the site. In 1850 the carriage and Wagon Department was created south of the locomotive works range. By 1871 the locomotice workwhops had been extended by 230ft (c.70m), and a second engine shed had been added. The Carriage Shop expanded to include a paint shop to the east and a separate carriage shop to the north and west. Accommodation (officially named Alfred Town, but often refered to as New Town / Newtown) was added to the south of the works in the form of houses surrounding a green. Town facilities included a baths house, post office, publice house, school, and Mechanics Institute. In 1850 60 more houses were added.

2) 1882-1908: In 1894 the locomotice works was extended again by 250ft (c.70m), adding a traverser and engine pits. IN 1896-8 carriage lifting an repairing shops were built, known as the Klondyke shop. In 1897 a watch tower and additions to the carriage shop were built, which were by now used as saw mills. By 1898 a sheeting shop had been built with a reservior, as well as two carriage painting shops, a rolling mill, a sheet store and raepairing store, and a kiln to produce fire bricks. A further range of buildings of unkown use were built. In 1907 a freestanding clock tower is built adjacent to the main entrance.

3) 1909-1949: In 1911 the locomotive works were further extended. A number of buildings changed usage around this time. In 1912 New Town was expanded with an outer ring of houses. Between 1941-45 part of the locomotive works was bomb-damaged and subsequently rebuilt.

4) 1949-present (report written in 2004): During the 1950-60s virtually all of the buildings were reroofed with steel trussed roofs. In 1963 the gatehouse was extended and a single-storey building was added to the base of the clock tower. In 1971 the original buildings of New Town were rebuilt (on a different layout). In 1962 the locomotive works closed, with Ashford railway closing in 1981. In 1984 many of the buildings were demolished and the locomotive works were altered internally and reused as light industrial units.
(3)

Additional bibliography. (4)

In 2010 Museum of London Archaeology carried out an evaluation on the southeastern part of the site, prior to redevelopment. Numerous 19th century brick walls and structures relating to the railway works were found. (5)

Historic England archive material: BF033645 OLD RAILWAY WORKS, NEWTOWN ROAD, ASHFORD

D.T. Timins, 1898, The Railway Magazine (Serial). SKe6768.

RCHME, 1991, The Railway Works Ashford (Unpublished document). SKe6767.

<1> D.T. Timins, 1898, The Railway Magazine (Serial). SKE6768.

<2> RCHME, 1991, The Railway Works Ashford (Unpublished document). SKE6767.

<3> Alan Baxter & Associates, 2004, Ashford Railway Works - Historic Buildings Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE16615.

<4> Museum of London Archaeology, 2008, Newtown Railway Works, New Town Road, Ashford: A Standing Building Survey Report (Unpublished document). SKE16614.

<5> Museum of London Archaeology, 2011, New Town Works, New Town Road, Ashford: Evaluation report (Unpublished document). SKE17563.