Wiltshire, UK
Silbury Antiques is selling a bronze GWR Chubb Swindon railway carriage latch on SalvoWEB with the description: '… it is incredibly heavy and incredibly well made with an incredibly strong spring. It appears to be complete and we have deliberately left the wealth of surface character as found. We have lightly cleaned and polished this wonderful bronze thing, but it is otherwise in original condition. Would make a most unusual bathroom or study lock if your door and arm is strong enough.'
There is a popular working display of forty eight Great Western Railway and British Rail carriage door handles and latch mechanisms from the past 150 years at the Steam Museum of the Grerat Western Railway in Swindon.
This type of latch, made 1907-1922, came from a GWR Churchward 57ft 'Toplight' Corridor Third built at Swindon - the one in the photo is in 1922 Collett livery which was very similar to the short lived (1907-08) Churchward livery, and is preserved at Severn Valley Railway. This carriage may even have been the first with a corridor.
It was named for George Churchward (1857-1933) who trained as an engineer and started work at GWR's engine sheds at Swindon in 1875, rising to become Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent.
The Great Western was built by Brunel as a 7ft wide 'broad gauge' from 1838-1892, and standard gauge thereafter.
We could find no record of Chubb making locks in Swindon, but we did find out that 'Chub' was the GWR telegraphic code word for third saloon carriage, and 'Termite' was a third class carriage.
These handles were known as 'commode handles' in the carriage-making world of Victorian England.
Salvo online marketplace for architectural salvage
Story Type: News