Lambley Viaduct
Lambley Viaduct | |
|---|---|
 Lambley Viaduct in October 2011 | |
| Coordinates | 54°55′08″N 2°30′31″W / 54.9190°N 2.5085°W |
| OS grid reference | NY675584 |
| Carries |
|
| Crosses | River South Tyne |
| Locale | Northumberland |
| Preceded by | Eals Footbridge |
| Followed by | Lambley Footbridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Stone |
| Total length | 260 m (850 ft) |
| Width | 3.5 m (11 ft) |
| Height | At least 33 m (108 ft) |
| No. of spans | 9 |
| Piers in water | 3 |
| History | |
| Designer | Probably Sir George Barclay Bruce[1] |
| Construction end | 1852 |
| Opened | 17 November 1852[2] |
| Closed | 3 May 1976, as a railway |
| Type | Grade II listed building |
| Designated | 23 August 1985[1] |
| Reference no. | 1042918 |
| Location | |
 | |
Lambley Viaduct is a stone bridge across the River South Tyne at Lambley in Northumberland. Formerly a railway bridge, it remains open to pedestrians but one end of the viaduct has been fenced off.
History
Lambley viaduct crosses the River South Tyne as a series of elegant stone arches. More than 260 m (850 ft) long, it was one of nine viaducts on the former Haltwhistle to Alston railway.[3][4] This was opened in 1852 to haul coal and lead from the Alston mines, closed in 1976, and the viaduct was allowed to decay.[5] In 1991 the British Rail Property Board agreed to repair the viaduct and hand it over to the North Pennine Heritage Trust which would maintain it in the future; however the Trust went into administration in 2011.[6][7]
The viaduct was probably designed by George Barclay Bruce,[1] a Victorian engineer who was involved in the Alston line before leaving for India to pioneer railway construction there. It is a particularly elegant example of Victorian engineering: the river is crossed by nine 17-metre (56 ft) wide arches which support a deck at least 33 m (108 ft) above the river[1] but, as it carried a single rail track, only 3.5 m (11 ft) wide. The piers to the arches are built of massive rough-faced stones each weighing up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb), with similar-sized stones in ashlar to the main arch voussoirs. The spandrels and piers to the 6-metre (20 ft) wide approach arches are built of coursed rubble masonry.[8]
One end of the viaduct has been fenced off, after the path was diverted in 2004 to pass further away from Lambley railway station, which is now a private house.[8]
It is a Grade II* listed structure.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Historic England, "Railway Viaduct Across River South Tyne (Grade II*) (1042918)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 5 September 2018
- ^ Tomlinson, William Weaver (1914). The North Eastern Railway: Its Rise and Development. Newcastle upon Tyne: Andrew Reid & Company. p. 511 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Fenton, Mike (December 1974). "South Tynedale Railway". Railway Magazine. Vol. 120, no. 884. London. pp. 588–591.
- ^ Fenton, Mike (Autumn 1986). "The Alston Branch". British Railway Journal. No. 13. Didcot. pp. 135–154. ISSN 0265-4105.
- ^ "River South Tyne - Lambley Viaduct". Bridges on the Tyne. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ "North Pennines Heritage Trust collapses". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trinity Mirror. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
The trust, with 400 members and a team of volunteers, also owns Alston Arches and the Lambley Viaduct at Haltwhistle.
- ^ Forsythe, Robert & Blackett-Ord, Charles (1998). Lambley Viaduct: The History, Decline and Restoration of a Great Monument. Nenthead: North Pennines Heritage Trust. ISBN 0951353551.
- ^ a b "Lambley Viaduct". Blacket-Ord Consulting Engineers. Archived from the original on 7 November 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2008.