Marshall's Yard, Gainsborough

Starting Point - Gainsborough Lea Road Station. Finishing Point - Marshall's Yard. Distance 1.2 Miles

1921 Map

Google Maps

Gainsborough Lea Road

I took a train to Gainsborough Lea Road to visit Marshall's Yard on Fathers Day and see the gathering of Marshall built machinery in the former works site which is now a retail park. The gathering is a regular Fathers Day event here though this year it was the 175th Anniversary of the works and a plaque was unveiled to commemorate this. Unfortunately Marshall's Yard is next to Gainsborough Central station which only has a token service of one train a day each way Monday to Friday.

Below - Northern Rail train at Gainsborough Lea Road station, the former GN & GE Joint station towards the bottom of the old map.

Below - The station building at Lea Road, now disused as the station is unstaffed.

I walked to Central Station following the A156 and A159, actually passing Marshall's Yard on the way. Also on the way, the B&Q store on Lea Road has its car park on the site of Carr House Works, a former branch of Marshalls that built aircraft in WW1. The Tesco superstore along the south side of Marshall's Yard occupies another part of the former works, the earliest parts of the Britannia Works site.

1921 Map

Below - Central Station today, now unstaffed and not doing so well for trains either.

Marshall, Sons & Co's Britannia Works

Marshalls were a large manufacturer of agricultural equipment including traction engines and later tractors. They also went in to steam roller production as well as material for the war effort. More about the company can be found on the Wikipedia article. Also check out the Marshall Club website. 

Below - A part of the Britannia Works complex that is still in industrial use. Situated on a higher level between what is now the Tescos store and car park and the former GCR railway line, this part of the site features some of the earliest buildings of Marshall's works. Looking at the satellite images the remains of the railway connections can be seen. I didn't try peering through the gate or poking my camera lens through it  as this may have attracted security staff. From the 1950s a prototype shunter built by Marshall's sister company John Fowler of Leeds worked Marshall's sidings.

Below - The part of the works still in industrial use seen from the Tescos car park, itself built on part of the former works. The site was on a higher and lower level with the works having been built from bricks made of clay dug out from the lower parts of the site.

Below - A plough at the entrance to the Tescos superstore as a memorial to the works that stood here. The buildings still in industrial use can be seen in the background.

Below - The South West corner of the Marshall's Yard retail park, the path to Gainsborough Central station that once divided the works site. Note the old fashioned sign direction people to the station, actually a modern replica. The gateways are actually part of the retail park development rather than an original part of the works site.

Below -  Information board about the history of the site at the south west corner of the retail park.

Below - The buildings along the path to Central station.

Below - It looked as though the path crossed over rail access in to the lower level of the buildings here.

Below - The buildings along Station Approach. The old map above shows a railway line entering the now bricked up arch. Presumably the neatly bricked up arch used bricks reclaimed from buildings demolished elsewhere on the site.

Below - Returning to Trinity Street (A 159) the former office buildings front on to the street.

Below - The back of the office building, now a row of shops in the retail park.

Below - Looking from the office building across to the buildings on the east side of the site. Some of the buildings in the centre of the site have been removed to provide parking space.

Below - Inside one of the buildings, now a Wilkinsons store.

Below - The unveiling of the plaque to be fitted at the works site. Not in the customary blue but in green like many of the machines built at the site. On the left a descendent of the Marshall family unveils the plaque.

Below - The gathering of Marshall built tractors and other items in the car park at the centre of the retail park.

Below - One of the later tractors to carry the Marshall name next to one of the earliest traction engines.

Below - Works number 54290 "Gainsboro'"

Below - One of Marshall's distinctive steam rollers with their trademark bulbous front end.

Below - A portable gas engine.

Below - A unique motor roller that rolled Marshall's own sports field, which still survives and is the home of Gainsborough Cricket Club just east of the works. It's not certain if this was a prototype or a side project by works staff.

Below - Works number 17134 "Mary Margaret" visiting the works for the first time since it was built.

Below - A line up mainly featuring Field Marshall tractors. Again recognisable with a rounded off front end.

Below - One of the later Marshall tractors arrives at the works site passing under one of the overhead cranes from the former works.

Below - A Marshall tractor brings in a threshing machine to the gathering under the overhead crane.

Below - A few Field Marshalls lined up with a couple of the later machines.

Below - Peeking round the back of the site. On the right is what is now the back of the retail stores, on the left the buildings along Station Approach, the two different levels on the site can be seen with arches under the buildings on the left which are accessed from Station Approach at the top of the arches.