More information : ST 830689. Box Tunnel, West Portal. When completed in 1841 Box tunnel was one of the engineering wonders of its age. The famous western portal is listed in grade 3.
West portal of Box Tunnel, Grade II*.
Tunnel entrance, c1840 by I.K. Brunel for Great Western Railway. Ashlar classical entrance flanked by ashlar curving abutments. Projecting centre with rusticated quoins, heavy bracket cornice and top balustrade with blank centre panel. Moulded tunnel archway with console keystone and panelled spandrels. Set back piers each side with simplified cornice and plain parapet. The entrance to 2,964 metre tunnel constructed 1836-41 with work force of between 1200 and 4000 men, the longest tunnel on the Great Western Railway. (3) |