180th anniversary celebrations at Bristol Temple Meads

Bristol Temple Meads celebrated the 180th anniversary of its doors opening to the public in 1840, making it the first rail terminus anywhere in the world.  Work on the line began five years earlier with Isambard Kingdom Brunel having surveyed the landscape between London and Bristol to carry steam propelled rail carriages.  Work commenced from Bristol towards London and from London towards Bristol, finally meeting up in 1841 near Reading.  First known as Bristol Station, Bristol Temple Meads took on its current name after World War II when nearby Temple Church was destroyed by bombing.  Meads comes from the water marshes and meadows that historically formed the landscape of the area.  In celebration of the 180th anniversary, Lord-Lieutenant Mrs Peaches Golding OBE cut a cake in the shape of a top hat in the company of (left to right) West of England Mayor Tim Bowles, Mr Brunel (enacted by Simon Strain) and Station Manager Andy Phillips.  The entrance to the Station shown in the photograph is the Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt building, as the Passenger Shed is the original site of Bristol Station.