Description

The asset was previously listed twice also under List Entry 1393868. This entry was removed form the List on 30th September 2015.

This List entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 30th September 2015.

698-1/0/11212
27-MAR-08

VICTORIA STREET
STEPHENSON BRIDGE


(Formerly listed as: VICTORIA STREET, STEPHENSON BRIDGE, then listed as STEPHENSON BRIDGE (THAT PART IN MANCHESTER DISTRICT) and STEPHENSON BRIDGE (THAT PART IN SALFORD DISTRICT) )

II
Railway Bridge, 1844 and 1884, by George Stephenson.

MATERIALS: Cast iron, masonry and brick. The 1844 bridge has two cast iron arches carrying the railway line over Victoria Street, supported by masonry abutments, with brick arches between the two main spans on the north side. A later addition on the south side is of plate-girder construction with a cast iron parapet.

EXTERIOR: The north side (1844 bridge) has abutments to either side of the road span and on the eastern side of the river span, in plain rusticated ashlar, with a large deep niche with keyed round arch on either side. Between the road and the river, the two spans are linked by three brick arches with ashlar dressings, carrying a brick and stone parapet. The road span is a cast iron arch decorated on the side with cast iron strips forming lozenges, and carrying a cast iron parapet with pilasters and raised panels. The river span is of similar construction, with stone facings and carrying a plain iron parapet.

The south side (1884 bridge) is a plate girder construction over both road and river, supported by a masonry wall alongside the station to the east. To the west is a matching abutment to those on the north face (rebuilt to match the original), and in the centre between the two spans is a matching double abutment with a short length of stone walling between, carrying a stone parapet. The two abutment pillars are at different heights to accomodate the variations in ground level between the road and river. The road span has a parapet in cast iron with raised and fielded panels, every third one containing a rosette, and with small lion heads at intervals along the top. The river span has a plain iron parapet with the girder construction visible below.

The two sections of bridge (1844 and 1884) follow slightly different tracks as they cross the river, with the later section diverging slightly to the south to make a shorter crossing of the river. There is no space between the two sections from above. The platform of the former Exchange Station survives as an extension from the western end of Victoria Station, running over both road and river to the car park that now occupies the former station. Traces of the former superstructure are visible in the tarmac surface and along the parapet.

Part of the bridge lies within Salford District.

HISTORY: Victoria Station was the western terminus of the Manchester & Leeds Railway Company's trans-Pennine line, constructed in 1844 and designed by George Stephenson. A bridge across Victoria Street to carry this line was built at the same time and is the earliest of the three bridges entering the station. Several terminus stations were built in Manchester, already a thriving and growing city when the railways arrived, and efforts to link them led to a complex situation of stations and tracks as the network evolved.

In or around 1864 a second bridge was constructed immediately to the north of the 1844 bridge, connecting the line to Bolton and Wigan developed by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. By the 1880s Victoria Station had grown to become one of the largest passenger stations in the country.

Manchester Exchange Station, to the west of Victoria Station on the other side of the River Irwell, was opened in 1884 to deal with some of the interconnection problems of the network, and the 1844 bridge was widened at the same time to provide access between the two stations. This linkage formed what was the longest passenger platform in Europe, part of which was carried on the bridge and extended through the original 1844 section of Victoria Station, with a canopy over the platform and track.

Further development took place in 1893, when a third bridge was constructed to the north of the 1864 bridge, taking further track between Exchange and Victoria Stations, and between 1903 and 1908 Victoria Station was further extended with a new facade by architect William Dawes. Exchange Station, which was severely damaged by bombing during the Second World War, was closed in 1969, and the 1893 bridge became redundant in 1992-4 when the new Arena was built into the north side of Victoria Station, closing off the east side of the former track. The platform on the 1844 bridge also became redundant when Exchange Station closed, and the train shed roof was demolished in 1982. The canopy survived until 1994, and the platform still survives over the bridge with some traces of the former canopy.

SOURCES: Tom Wray; Manchester Victoria Station (2004)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The 1844 railway bridge at Victoria Street, Manchester, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It was designed by George Stephenson as part of his work on the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company's trans-Pennine route, terminating at Victoria Station immediately adjacent to the bridge
* It dates to 1844, the second phase of railway construction when railway building enthusiasm was at its height and much of the national network was laid down
* Its later extension formed part of the longest passenger platform in Europe until the adjoining Manchester Exchange Station was closed in 1969, and the platform still survives without its canopy
* It forms an important component in a group of railway and other transport structures of the nineteenth century
* It demonstrates, with other closely associated structures, the development of the transport network in Manchester.

Reasons for Listing

* It was designed by George Stephenson as part of his work on the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company's trans-Pennine route, terminating at Victoria Station immediately adjacent to the bridge
* It dates to 1844, the second phase of railway construction when railway building enthusiasm was at its height and much of the national network was laid down
* Its 1884 extension formed part of the longest passenger platform in Europe until the adjoining Manchester Exchange Station was closed in 1969
* It forms an important component in a group of railway and other transport structures of the nineteenth century
* It demonstrates, with other closely associated structures, the development of the transport network in Manchester throughout the nineteenth century.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671706

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)