Bottelinos Swindon, scaffold climb and rooftop view.

A pattern store, dating from 1897, designed and constructed by the Great Western Railway for the Swindon Railway Works. The building is surmounted by a four-section water tank which covers the entire roof of the building.

HISTORY: The Swindon Railway Works were begun in 1841 as a repair depot for locomotives on the Great Western Railway. The site had been chosen as a convenient point on the London-Bristol line, as Swindon was the point at which the Cheltenham branch of the GWR joined the main line. The works rapidly expanded into a factory for the building of locomotives and wagons, and by 1851, was employing 2,000 men. In 1868, a further period of expansion began, as a new carriage works was constructed on the site. A vast new locomotive and tender building was constructed in 1873 to the west of the works, reaching to the eastern side of Rodbourne Road. It was agreed by the GWR directors on 22 July 1896 that a new pattern store would be built, at a cost of £4,000, as the old pattern stores were overflowing, and many patterns were being stored outdoors under sheeting. The new store was to be constructed by GWR workers using materials from its own stores, under the supervision of William Dean, Locomotive and Carriage Superintendent for the works, and the order was placed the following month. The pattern store was the first permanent building to be erected on the area of land to the west of Rodbourne Road; the site had been acquired by GWR in 1884, and had hitherto been used as a store for redundant broad-gauge locomotives. This area was heavily developed by the firm in the period to 1920, with massive workshops built to the west of the pattern store. The location of the store was convenient, as the foundry was situated just across Rodbourne Road, reached by a covered footbridge (now demolished), which allowed easy movement of patterns to and from the store. Patterns were made in 'H' shop, to the north of the foundry, keeping the related functions close to each oth..