Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Bristol and Exeter Railway Company
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
When Parliament gave permission for the Great Western Railway in 1835, Bristol merchants began to argue for an extension of the proposed line to Exeter. Permission was granted in 1836 and Isambard Brunel (1806-1859) was appointed engineer. The line was completed in 1844. Over the next nine years branches were opened to Clevedon, Tiverton and Yeovil. Other branches followed in the 1860s (Chard, Portishead, Wells, Barnstaple and Minehead). The Bristol & Exeter Railway was considered to be a reasonable financial success and between 1844 and 1874 the annual dividend was 4.5 per cent.