Following growing local pressure in the industrialised climate of the 1830s and '40s, Braintree finally gained a railway connection in 1848, ten years after the nearby town of Witham. Construction of the Braintree Branch employed up to 1000 ‘navvies’ in the summer months, and its completion had an immediate impact on goods transport, with local industries no longer relying on horse and wagon to distribute and receive goods.

For further information, please download the PDF below:

PDF Information Sheet - 'The Railway in Essex'