Sydney Wharf Bridge and Retaining Walls (MLN110622), Bathwick, Bath and North East Somerset

Summary

A single-span overbridge and attached retaining walls to the cutting, erected c.1839-40.

Description

MATERIALS: Bath stone ashlar; some engineering brick in the retaining walls.

DESCRIPTION: Sydney Wharf Bridge: a 30ft (12m) semi-elliptical arch with parapet, and a simple and bold string course and coping. The abutments are incorporated with the cutting retaining walls.

Cutting retaining walls: extend on both sides of the track north to Sydney Road Bridge (MLN1 10618, listed Grade II*) and south to the northern (low mileage) portal of the Bathwick Covered Way (MLN110624/10629, listed Grade II). The walls are 6-8m tall, stepping down north to south, with battered curved faces. These are articulated by a plinth supporting pilaster buttresses, under a string course and coped parapet. All mouldings are bold and simple. Some sections of the eastern (Down) retaining wall have been refaced in purple engineering brick, carefully replicating the original mouldings.

History

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1835 to construct a line from London to Bristol. At 118 miles this was slightly longer than the other major trunk railway of its time, the London and Birmingham (112 miles) and considerably longer than other pioneering lines. Construction of the line began in 1836, using a variety of contractors and some direct labour. The first section to be completed, from London to Maidenhead Riverside (Taplow), opened in 1838, and thereafter openings followed in eight phases culminating the completion of the whole route in 1841.

The engineering of the railway was entrusted in 1833 to Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59), who was already known for his projects in Bristol. More than any other railway engineer of his time he took sole responsibility for every aspect of the engineering design, from surveying the line to the detailing of buildings and structures. He sought to achieve as level a route as possible and, working from first principles, he persuaded the Directors of the G.W.R. to adopt a broad gauge of 7ft 0¼ in rather then the standard (4ft 8½in) gauge in use on other lines. A two track broad gauge line was 30ft wide, and this determined the span of the overbridges and other structures. Except in the case of larger bridges such as Maidenhead Bridge and Gatehampton Viaduct, Brunel’s masonry bridges did not need to be as innovative as his works in timber and iron, and his buildings followed the typical architectural idioms of his time, but together they formed integral parts of a consistently-designed pioneering railway.

Although he left no written statement concerning his design concept for the line, it can be inferred from its design and from the way it was described when opened that part of his vision was a line engineered according to picturesque principles. This influenced his selection of the route and the design of structures along it. For reasons of cost, but also because it helped blend the railway to the landscape, he used local materials for bridges and other structures, ranging from stock brick at the London end of the line, to red brick, Bath stone east of Bath and Blue Lias stone west of Bath. This intentional variety was remarked on by contemporaries, for instance in J C Bourne, 'The History and Description of the Great Western Railway' (1846). Surviving contract drawings for bridges and other structures on the Bath section of the line carry the signature of I.K. Brunel, reflecting his involvement with every aspect of the project. The Resident Engineer was G E Frere (1807-87), assisted by G T Clark (1809-98) and Michael Lane (1802-68), but their individual contributions have not been identified.

Sydney Wharf Bridge and attached retaining walls

The line through Bath required some complicated engineering. South from Sydney Gardens, Brunel conceived and designed a series of bridges, retaining walls and two short tunnels under Bathwick Hill. The retaining walls south of Sydney Road Bridge are bridged at midpoint by Sydney Wharf Bridge. The works were probably completed in 1840, and the first train between Bath and Chippenham ran in June 1841. Since then, the only alterations have been the refacing of some areas of the retaining walls in engineering brick.

Reasons for Listing

Sydney Wharf Bridge, Bath, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: an early example of a railway structure dating from the pioneering phase in national railway development;
* Rarity: a rare bridge and retaining walls to survive intact from the earliest phase of the Great Western Railway;
* Historic association: it is constructed to a design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel who is widely perceived as one of the most important transport engineers and architects of the C19.

External Links

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