Brunel’s Engine Shed boasts a rich and varied past, from its completion in 1841 as the extended Temple Meads station, to its time as The Exploratory, The Empire and Commonwealth Museum, and now as one of the region’s thriving business hubs.
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Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1841
One of the world’s oldest surviving terminuses, it was the GWR offices and maintenance shed adjacent to the Passenger Shed.
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GWR, British Rail
1841-1965
The building serviced engines carrying passengers to/from London. Until 1843 passengers could take Brunel’s Great Western to New York.
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The Exploratory
1989-99
The Exploratory science museum was housed in the Passenger Shed. Its larger successor is We The Curious, in Millennium Square.
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The Empire and Commonwealth Museum
2002-09
The Empire and Commonwealth Museum explored the history of the British Empire and the effect of British colonial rule.
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Engine Shed is born
January 2013
The Engine Shed business was plan developed as an experimental partnership with Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol.
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SETsquared moves in
July 2013
The SETsquared Bristol Centre moves from Clifton into the top floor of the unfinished Engine Shed
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Engine Shed opens
December 2013
Engine Shed is opened by Greg Clark MP with SETsquared, Webstart Bristol, and Invest Bristol & Bath as tenants
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The LEP arrives
2014
The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership move in to office space at Engine Shed
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Silicon Gorge
2014
Engine Shed showcases work to support the regional investment ecosystem, hosting Silicon Gorge 1.1 with tech startups pitching to angel and institutional investors.
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Platform 14
2014
Students of Musuem Curation at UWE create Engine Shed’s first exhibition and coin the name ‘Platform 14’ for its showcase space
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One Year of ES
2014
To mark Engine Shed’s first anniversary, an Economic Impact Assessment is commissioned, confirming £7.9m GVA to date
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Successful departures
2015
Webstart becomes virtual, having successfully delivered three cohorts. The Bristol & Bath by Design research project moves in.
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Facilitating connections
2015
Engine Shed hosts VentureFest and Pitch@Palace, furthering its work to bring investment and business connections to local start ups.
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Boxworks arrives
2016
Forward Space open twenty 40ft containers to create the Boxworks development.
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Ministerial Speech
2015
Secretary of State, Sajid Javid, chooses Engine Shed to make his maiden ministerial speech, in his first week of office
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Isambard Visits
2015
Isambard Thomas, Brunel’s great-great-great-grandson, is interviewed in the Boardroom as part of GWR launch
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Unit DX launches
2016
Engine Shed hosts a launch party for Unit DX, Bristol’s new scientific innovation centre for companies needing flexible, high-spec lab space.
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Inclusive Growth
February 2017
The seminal event “Scaling up Inclusively: Minding the Gap” with Mayor Marvin Rees establishes Engine Shed’s Inclusive Growth theme
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Oracle arrives
2017
Europe’s only Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator moves into The Arrivals Lounge
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Metro Mayor arrives
2017
The first regional Combined Authority ‘Metro Mayor’ began his tenure with an office at Engine Shed.
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Successful departures
2017
The LEP and Combined Authority outgrow their space and relocate to Rivergate. The Interchange co-working space is created.
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Inclusion project
2018
Engine Shed on Tour bus launches as part of our Diverse Workforce for the Future Project
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Scaleup Generator
2018
Engine Shed launches the Scaleup Generator with Growth Hub, offering support and resources to the regions’ fast-growth companies
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Royal Visit
2018
The Duke of Cambridge launched the Mental Health in the Workplace campaign at Engine Shed with Mind charity.
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boomsatusma expansion
2018
boomsatsuma expands again into the old Interchange co-working space, creating space for The Interchange 2.0
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Five Years of ES
2019
Engine Shed celebrates five years since opening its doors with a party for our members and partners