Description

1137/0/10126 BREWERS LANE
01-OCT-09 Bridgemary
Railway bridge

II
Railway bridge dating to 1841 to carry single lane traffic over the now redundant Fareham to Gosport line of the former London and South Western Railway.

MATERIALS: Mainly of red brick with some yellow brick banding and random grey engineering brick.

DESCRIPTION: The bridge is symmetrical with battered buttresses on each face either side of an elliptical arch; a dentilled cornice in yellow brick at the base of the outer face of the curving parapet reflects a band of the same brick on the inside of the arch vault; the latter band being a stretcher course between two header courses. The top courses of each side of the parapet have been repaired with matching red brick and a soldier course coping added; however, the original brickwork below this is English bond. The main body of the bridge is also English bond with the external face of the arch itself being formed by header bond and the arch vaulting in stretcher bond with English bond below the decorative banding.

HISTORY: The bridge is contemporary with the construction of the Fareham-Gosport line which was opened on 29 November 1841. This was the first railway line in the Portsmouth area and was a branch of the London and South Western Railway's main London to Southampton route. It was built to link Portsmouth with London (passengers carried on to Portsmouth from Gosport station via a short ferry crossing). A line from London to Portsmouth itself was eventually opened in 1848.

The main architect for the London and South Western Railway was Sir William Tite who, notably, designed the classically-styled station at Gosport (Grade II), a few miles to the south of this bridge. A prolific Victorian architect, Tite is best known for the rebuilding of the Royal Exchange in London (Grade II). The bridge at Brewer's Lane can more likely be attributed to the chief engineer, Joseph Locke and the engineering contractor Thomas Brassey or their staff. Locke was appointed for the construction of the London to Southampton Railway in 1837 and was involved in the Gosport extension (1839-1841). Locke had been impressed with Brassey's ability through a mutual contact, George Stephenson, and used him as an engineering contractor on the Gosport line.

The line was used regularly by Queen Victoria from 1843 to her death in 1901 to travel to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight via Gosport and the adjacent Royal Clarence Yard. It was also important in developing Gosport as a holiday destination when Gosport station was opened in 1841. The line from Fareham to Gosport was popular in the mid C19, particularly for carrying freight; however, it became less important for passenger traffic when the route from Fareham to Portsmouth via Cosham was opened in 1848. It continued, however, to serve the naval victualling and armament yards at Gosport, a role which increased in 1914 with the advent of war. After a decline between the wars the railway gained importance again in the Second World War moving supplies, invalided soldiers and prisoners of war. After the war passenger traffic dwindled until withdrawn on 8 June 1953; freight continued to be taken to Gosport until 6 January 1969 after which trains ran as far as the Bedenham Naval branch. The bridge is the only one on this stretch of line which is original; the other three bridges on this section are 1950s and 1960s concrete structures.

SOURCES
Otter, R,A, Civil Engineering Heritage: Southern England (1997)
Simmons, J and Biddle, G, The Oxford Companion to British Railway History (2003)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The Railway Bridge at Brewers Lane is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Of architectural interest for its elliptical arch design and decorative brickwork.
* An early railway bridge, which dates to the opening of the Fareham-Gosport line of the London and South Western Railway in 1841, a date also marking the end of the first phase of railway development and the beginning of the great age of railway expansion which created most of the national railway network; and it is the last remaining original bridge surviving on this part of the now disused line.
* Of historic interest for its associations with Queen Victoria and the Gosport naval yards during both World Wars.

Reasons for Listing

The Railway Bridge at Brewers Lane has been designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Of architectural interest for its elliptical arch design and decorative brickwork.
* An early railway bridge, which dates to the opening of the Fareham-Gosport line of the London and South Western Railway in 1841, a date also marking the end of the first phase of railway development and the beginning of the great age of railway expansion which created most of the national railway network; and it is the last remaining original bridge surviving on this part of the now disused line.
* Of historic interest for its associations with Queen Victoria and the Gosport naval yards during both World Wars.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672619

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.

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