manchester tourist guide history
Wednesday, 30th July 2003
George BradshawIn the C19 this modest local man became famous. As the impact of the railway system became more obvious and its organisation more complicated Bradshaw (1801-1853) came up with a national railway map and then the famous Bradshaw's Railway Companion in 1839. This was the first national railway timetable, a revelation at the time, ‘seldom has the gigantic intellect of man been employed upon a work of greater utility,’ wrote Punch magazine later. Unsurprisingly this and subsequent guides were deeply unpopular with the railway companies who found themselves tied to running services on time. In 1844 Bradshaw's Continental Guide appeared. This made a revolutionary impact on foreign travel for leisure, making it far more accessible. French author Jules Verne was one of many famous writers who mentioned the works. In Around the World in Eighty Days Phileas Fogg sets out from Charing Cross station and, ‘Under his arm might have been observed a red-bound copy of Bradshaw's Continental Rail and Steam Transport and General Guide….’.
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