Listing

Act of Parliament granting permission to build the London Extension

The front cover of what is possibly the most important document relating to the Last Main Line. Granted Royal Assent on 28th March 1893, this Act of Parliament authorised the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway to 'complete a through Railway communication to London, by way of Nottingham, Leicester, Loughborough, Lutterworth and Rugby'. The Bill had faced considerable opposition, and was certainly unpopular with the Midland Railway, whose own line to the capital would have to compete directly with the new route. When it was first presented to Parliament in 1891, the Bill was thrown out, and although its opponents were no doubt protecting their interests by maintaining that another line to London was not necessary, time would in fact prove them right. Be that as it may, work began in the autumn of 1894, and it was during the building of this grand enterprise that the M.S. & L.R. changed its name, confirming its rise in status by becoming the Great Central Railway.

Digital Reference: L2755
Creator: Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway - 1893
Contributor: Leicestershire County Council
Type: Act of Parliament
Format: 327mm, 213mm
Copyright: Leicestershire County Council
Source: Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland (document Act of Parliament, part of Book)
Identifier: DE4686/45