Mile Lane Bridge is a road-over-rail bridge in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, central England. It is possibly the first use of a

flying arch A flying arch is a form of arch bridge that does not carry any vertical load, but is provided solely to supply outward horizontal forces, to resist an inwards compression. They are used across cutting (transportation), cuttings, to avoid them colla ...

over a railway cutting and is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building.

Description

Mile Lane runs roughly south from Coventry ring road and crosses the Rugby to Coventry section of the

Birmingham Loop Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

railway line to the south of Coventry city centre, near

London Road Cemetery London Road Cemetery is a cemetery in Coventry, England, designed by Joseph Paxton and opened in 1847. It lies south-east of the city centre and is bisected by the West Coast main railway line between Coventry and Rugby, which pre-dates the ce ...

. The railway on the approach to Coventry is in a deep sandstone cutting. The bridge is a

, meaning it has no

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s and instead springs directly from the cutting walls and the forces of the load on it are transferred to the walls, helping to restrain them. The bridge is built mostly from stone dug out from the cutting it crosses, with some use of brick. It is a single, elliptical, arch with irregular

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s and a roll

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The parapets are in the same stone but with modern brick to the inside faces and modern capping stones.

History

The bridge dates from the opening of the London and Birmingham Railway (LBR) in 1838 and is believed to be the work of Robert Stephenson, the railway's chief engineer. Much of the line has been widened and modernised but the section between Rugby and Coventry is largely as-built and most of the original structures, including Mile Lane Bridge, survive. There are two similar bridges near

Tile Hill Tile Hill is a suburb in the west of Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is mostly residential and partly industrial, with some common land and wooded areas. Tile Hill railway station is located on the West Coast Main L ...

, the other side of Coventry station; a third spanned the railway near Blisworth in Northamptonshire, further south, but does not survive. The four are believed to be the earliest flying arch bridges over a railway cutting. It was designated at grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in December 2015. It was listed for its age as an original structure from one of the first major railway lines, and for its importance in engineering history as one of the earliest flying arches over a railway and the involvement of Stephenson, "one of the most important transport engineers of the 19th century". Several other railway-related structures in Coventry, all original features of the LBR, were listed at the same time: (from east to west) the

Sowe Viaduct The Sowe Viaduct is a railway bridge on the Birmingham Loop line crossing the River Sowe at the south-eastern edge of Coventry in central England. Built in 1838, it is a Grade II listed building. Description The bridge carries the Birmingham Loop ...

, the

Sherbourne Viaduct The Sherbourne Viaduct is a railway bridge that carries the Birmingham Loop line across the River Sherbourne in Coventry, central England. Built in 1838, it is a grade II listed building. Description The Sherbourne Viaduct is located to the sout ...

, and the portals of Humber Road Tunnel.

References

{{reflist Bridges in Coventry Grade II listed bridges 1838 establishments in England Bridges completed in 1838