Silver End, Essex

[SargeNpton]

I had occasion to visit Silver End in Essex recently, a village between Braintree and Witham. Half way along Silver Street there is a lane that leads to a sports ground, and embedded in the pavement are embedded two short lengths of rail.

A search of old maps does not show any signs of a narrow gauge railway/tramway in the area, and a search of the local history websites for Silver End makes no mention of them.

So, by any chance, does anybody on here have a knowledge of that area who could shed light on what these rails were for?

 

[Bishopstone]

Just a guess: some connection with the Crittall window factory, which was located in Silver End until the early noughties?

 

[stuving]

Just a guess: some connection with the Crittall window factory, which was located in Silver End until the early noughties?

I thought that too - a little builder's tramway used when the whole model village and the Crittall factory were built in the 1920s. And that is confirmed in this commentary on a walk by the Colchester Archaeological Group:

16 Continue along Silver Street to the junction with the entrance to the playing fields, cross over to the left and stop at entrance to the Village Hall sports field.

Here you can see evidence of the rail track that was used to bring the gravel from the area behind Temple Lane/Valentine Way to build the houses.

 

[SargeNpton]

I thought that too - a little builder's tramway used when the whole model village and the Crittall factory were built in the 1920s. And that is confirmed in this commentary on a walk by the Colchester Archaeological Group:

Thanks for that.

Surprising though that there is no evidence of the tramway on any of the old OS maps that I have looked at, if it existed for any length of time.

 

[Clarence Yard]

The Industrial Railway Society handbook on Essex has the construction period as 3/26 to 6/30 and at one time 3 Motor Rail 2ft gauge 4wPM were apparently employed on it.

 

[stuving]

Thanks for that.

Surprising though that there is no evidence of the tramway on any of the old OS maps that I have looked at, if it existed for any length of time.

It would only have been there for a short time - maybe just a couple of years - and had to be removed before the playing field could be finished. So no surveyor may have seen it. Since it left no earthworks there was nothing needing to be labelled to explain it.

Incidentally, here's a prettier version of what looks like the same walking guide. It was most likely written by Silver End Heritage Society with Radical Essex, who made the leaflet.