Corby Viaduct is a railway bridge built to carry the
Newcastle & Carlisle Railway over the Corby Beck near
Great Corby, in the parish of
Wetheral, to the east of
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
in north-western England. One of the largest structures on the route, it is a grade II
listed building.
Background
The idea of linking
Newcastle upon Tyne on England's east coast with
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
on the west dates back to at least the 1770s, when proposals were tabled for a canal. The prospectus for the
Newcastle & Carlisle Railway was published in 1825 and construction work began in 1829 under the supervision of
Francis Giles.
The line was one of the earliest mainline railways and Britain's first major east-west line.
Giles was the consulting engineer for the entire line but was also directly responsible for the principal works at the western end, which presented some of the greatest engineering challenges on the route, including Corby Viaduct as well as the next feature on the line, the
Corby Bridge (or Wetheral Viaduct, which crosses the
River Eden), and the
Gelt Bridge
The Gelt Bridge or Gelt Viaduct (also known as Middle Gelt Bridge) is a skew arch railway viaduct in the parish of Hayton, east of Carlisle in Cumbria, north west England. Built from 1832, it is one of the earliest and largest skew bridges in Bri ...
further east.
Description
The viaduct crosses Corby Beck on seven red sandstone arches, supported by six piers. The arches have a span of each and the whole structure is long, carrying the railway above the valley floor. The viaduct has similar architectural details to the nearby
Corby Bridge (Wetheral Viaduct). It crosses the entrance drive to
Corby Castle and was used as an entrance to the castle; the coat of arms of the
Howard family are carved into the both faces of the central arch.
History
The bridge was built from 1830 to 1834. The road to Corby Castle is now disused and much overgrown. Vegetation makes the viaduct largely inaccessible at ground level.
The viaduct is a grade II
listed building. The list entry describes it as "an early and important railway structure, forming an impressive landscape feature".
See also
*
Listed buildings in Wetheral
References
{{reflist
Wetheral
Grade II listed bridges
Railway bridges in Cumbria
Grade II listed buildings in Cumbria
Bridges completed in 1834