Summary

A flying arch bridge over the London & Birmingham Railway of circa 1838.

Description

A flying arch bridge over the London and Birmingham Railway, of c.1838.

MATERIALS: The bridge is constructed mainly of stone with some brick.

PLAN: The bridge crosses the railway line in a roughly north-south orientation.

DESCRIPTION: The bridge crosses the railway over a deep cutting, and appears to be constructed using stone dug out from the cutting itself. It is a single arch with long and short voussoirs which is supported at either end by the sides of the cutting. The parapets are of stone with modern brick to their internal faces, and modern pointed cappings.

History

The London and Birmingham Railway was established in the 1830s to build the railway line between London and Birmingham, with Robert Stephenson appointed as the company's chief engineer. This was to be the first main line railway between London and another major city. The first parts of the line were opened in 1837, with the remainder opening in 1838.

Much of the line was widened during the 1960s, but this work did not reach beyond Rugby. The bridge at Mile Lane is thought to date from the original construction of the railway, c.1838, and is thought to be one of the first flying arch structures built over a railway line.

Reasons for Listing

The Mile Lane Bridge of c.1838, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: it dates from the pioneering phase of railway development and survives substantially intact;
* Engineering interest: it is understood to be the first flying arch bridge across a railway in the country;
* Historic interest: it is associated with Robert Stephenson, one of the most important transport engineers of the C19.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Mile Lane Bridge at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q26677692

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

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)