Industrial History Online
Brunel Engine Shed
Key Words :- railway station
Viewing the Site :- cafe and exhibition gallery open to the public
Address :- Station Approach, Crendon Street, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP13 6NE
Grid Ref :- SU 86861 93042
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.629497 , Long -0.746482
Local Authority :- Buckinghamshire Council
Pre 1974 County :- Buckinghamshire
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No :- 1389150,
Site Dates :- 1854 -
Description and History of Site:-
The "Brunel Engine Shed" building located just south of the current High Wycombe railway station incorporates three major components from the original 1854 Wycombe Railway broad gauge passenger terminus. Central to these is the rectangular former Brunel-style passenger train shed which retains some of the original side walls and timbers from the overall roof. Attached to this on the north side is a small former engine shed, while attached on the south side is the former passenger station building / booking office. The station building includes a second storey added around 1940. The historic buildings were refurbished in keeping with their original appearance between 2019 and 2023. They now form part of a multi-purpose venue used by Buckinghamshire New University. The venue, perhaps incorrectly named the Brunel Engine Shed, includes a two-storey extension at the eastern end of the train shed which was added as part of the refurbishment.
The former train shed is normally in use as a cafe and working space Monday to Friday. The cafe along with an exhibition gallery in the extension are open to the public.
The original passenger terminus on the broad gauge line from Maidenhead opened in 1854 and was replaced in 1868 by a through station further north around the time the railway was extended to Princes Risborough and Thame. The original station then became a goods station. The internal wall between the train shed and engine shed was removed and various extensions added over the years with the result that the original train shed became largely hidden from view. The goods station closed in 1967 and the site then found commercial use. Plans to demolish most of the goods station buildings were announced around 2000 but research and campaigning by the Broad Gauge Society resulted in the 1854 buildings being given grade II listing and demolition plans were abandoned. Commercial use, latterly a tyre business, continued until around 2010 when the later extensions were demolished but plans to bring what was by now known as the Brunel Shed back into use were not implemented and the buildings remained unoccupied for several years. The buildings were purchased in 2017 by Wycombe District Council and the Council initiated the scheme to bring the site back into use.
Further Reading and References:-
Howes, Hugh. 'The Industrial Heritage of the Chilterns'. Chiltern Society, 2025
http://www.glias.org.uk/news/318news.html#G
https://www.hawkinsbrown.com/projects/brunel-engine-shed/
https://www.bucks.ac.uk/life/facilities/brunel-engine-shed
Help us improve this entry
Grid Ref :- SU 86861 93042
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.629497 , Long -0.746482
Local Authority :- Buckinghamshire Council
Pre 1974 County :- Buckinghamshire
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No :- 1389150,
Site Dates :- 1854 -
The "Brunel Engine Shed" building located just south of the current High Wycombe railway station incorporates three major components from the original 1854 Wycombe Railway broad gauge passenger terminus. Central to these is the rectangular former Brunel-style passenger train shed which retains some of the original side walls and timbers from the overall roof. Attached to this on the north side is a small former engine shed, while attached on the south side is the former passenger station building / booking office. The station building includes a second storey added around 1940. The historic buildings were refurbished in keeping with their original appearance between 2019 and 2023. They now form part of a multi-purpose venue used by Buckinghamshire New University. The venue, perhaps incorrectly named the Brunel Engine Shed, includes a two-storey extension at the eastern end of the train shed which was added as part of the refurbishment.
The former train shed is normally in use as a cafe and working space Monday to Friday. The cafe along with an exhibition gallery in the extension are open to the public.
The original passenger terminus on the broad gauge line from Maidenhead opened in 1854 and was replaced in 1868 by a through station further north around the time the railway was extended to Princes Risborough and Thame. The original station then became a goods station. The internal wall between the train shed and engine shed was removed and various extensions added over the years with the result that the original train shed became largely hidden from view. The goods station closed in 1967 and the site then found commercial use. Plans to demolish most of the goods station buildings were announced around 2000 but research and campaigning by the Broad Gauge Society resulted in the 1854 buildings being given grade II listing and demolition plans were abandoned. Commercial use, latterly a tyre business, continued until around 2010 when the later extensions were demolished but plans to bring what was by now known as the Brunel Shed back into use were not implemented and the buildings remained unoccupied for several years. The buildings were purchased in 2017 by Wycombe District Council and the Council initiated the scheme to bring the site back into use.
Howes, Hugh. 'The Industrial Heritage of the Chilterns'. Chiltern Society, 2025
http://www.glias.org.uk/news/318news.html#G
https://www.hawkinsbrown.com/projects/brunel-engine-shed/
https://www.bucks.ac.uk/life/facilities/brunel-engine-shed
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Contributor :- Andrew Turner - 13 August 2023
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Andrew Turner
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Andrew Turner