Terminus caf?, Rodbourne Road, Swindon

Image: © Brian Robert Marshall Taken: 17 Jan 2010

The café closed in 1969. It subsequently became a typewriter repair shop, which also closed some time ago. The building in which both businesses operated is now being comprehensively redeveloped. The sign seen here has been hidden from view for forty years and the refurbishment process has recently uncovered it. The name reveals a little of the history of the area. Once this was as far as the Swindon tram network reached giving rise to the appellation 'Terminus'. The tram system ran from 1904 until 1929 when buses took over the public transport rôle. Because there was a low bridge nearby under the Swindon to Gloucester railway, the bus route also ended here thus keeping alive the concept that the locality was a terminus. That changed in 1956 with the replacement of the original low bridge with a higher one underneath which buses could now pass. The café carried on however under its original name until it closed 13 years later. The details above are from the 'Swindonweb' site which also has a couple of interesting historical images of the area http://www.swindonweb.com/?m=8&s=116&ss=345&c=6640

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0