The railway navvies
Surrey Life|February 2020
Towards the end of the 19th century gangs of itinerant labourers worked away to create our county’s rail network. Stephen Roberts visits Surrey History Centre to find out more
Stephen Roberts
The railway navvies

They swarmed all over the countryside like industrious ants, a community in perpetual motion. They worked, lived, slept, ate and drank like there was no tomorrow, and for some of them there wasn’t. These were the so-called railway ‘navvies’, huge gangs of itinerant labourers doing the dangerous back-breaking toil that was feverishly creating a new transport infrastructure.

Among the Surrey History Centre’s many treasures is an album of old railway photographs, dating to 1884. There are 46 large-scale black and white pictures in total, that have a faded, sepia look about them, yet the navvies stare out at you with crystal clarity. It’s as though they’ve just stepped off a long shift and are giving you a questioning stare. Not one of them has ‘high-viz’. Incidentally, that word ‘navvy’ comes from ‘navigator’ (the navvies built the navigation canals in the 18th century before they built the railways in the 19th). A navvy was essentially a labourer employed in excavating and gave us the expression ‘working like a navvy’ (meaning toiling hard).

I’m interested in these pictures for several reasons. It’s unusual to find so many images of a railway line being constructed. Our interest is usually at the other end, when the route has been completed and the trains are running. The line the men were building is in Surrey too: The New Guildford Line between Surbiton and Guildford, which opened 135 years ago, in February 1885. This was the London & South Western Railway’s line, which ran from Surbiton to Guildford (via Cobham and Effingham Junction). At the same time the LSWR was also building the Effingham Junction to Leatherhead line (via Bookham). Both of these lines are still in use 135 years later, ferrying millions of commuters into work, and home again, every year.

This story is from the February 2020 edition of Surrey Life.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2020 edition of Surrey Life.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM SURREY LIFEView All
The House That Rocks
Surrey Life

The House That Rocks

Transforming an impressive, seven-bedroom Victorian property in Dorking wasn’t without its challenges, but the result is a stunning family home that has had the interiors world raving

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
REMEDY FOR SUCCESS
Surrey Life

REMEDY FOR SUCCESS

Surrey’s Tracy Borman discusses the return of her heroine healer in the final book of her best-selling fictional trilogy

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
Love Celia
Surrey Life

Love Celia

Actress Celia Imrie has travelled the world for work and leisure but wherever she goes there is a part of her which is forever Surrey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH
Surrey Life

EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH

Art & Action: Making Change in Victorian Britain at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village in Compton focuses on the Victorian roots of art activism

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
Electric dreams
Surrey Life

Electric dreams

The Range Rover plug-in hybrid brings silent electric motoring to this iconic luxury car

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
THE OPEN ROAD
Surrey Life

THE OPEN ROAD

Chris Pickering rounds up some of the best drives in Surrey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield
Surrey Life

TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield

With the North Downs looming nearby and glorious countryside surrounding it, Oxted is a town with real “escape from London” appeal and character, while nearby Limpsfield has a superb village vibe with its own community-run pub

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
Artist to the stars
Surrey Life

Artist to the stars

Known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism’, Mickleham-based Sherree Valentine Daines is celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME
Surrey Life

A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME

The Signet Collection’s inaugural hotel project is a reimagining of a former royal guest house, situated directly opposite Hampton Court Palace

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe
Surrey Life

TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe

On the banks of the River Wey, Godalming is a watercolour pretty town surrounded by pristine countryside and in-demand rural villages, such as Hascombe

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2020