The Sowe Viaduct is a railway bridge on 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. ...

line crossing the

River Sowe The River Sowe is a river in Warwickshire and West Midlands, England. It is a tributary of the River Avon, and flows into it just south of Stoneleigh about 5 miles (8 km) south of Coventry. It is about long. The Sowe rises in Bedworth ...

at the south-eastern edge of

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 ...

in central England. Built in 1838, it 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

The bridge carries the

railway line across the

, a tributary of the Avon. It is oriented roughly east to west and located between Coventry and , on the outskirts of the city. By road, it is just east of the A4082. It consists of one main arch flanked by three much smaller arches on each side. The bridge is built from red brick with stone dressings to the arches. The arches have substantial

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. Within the piers supporting the ancillary arches, smaller arches are cut. The structure is decorated with

vermiculation Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin ''vermiculus'' meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of ...

and

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

with a

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 ...

that runs the length of the bridge. The main arch is flanked by giant

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s; similar pilasters mark both ends of the viaduct. The bridge has many patches of blue engineering brick, evidence of previous repairs.

History

The viaduct was built in 1838 by Robert Stephenson, chief engineer to the London and Birmingham Railway. It is still in use as part of the

line. Much of the line was quadrupled in the 1960s but this work only went as far north as Rugby, meaning the Sowe Viaduct and other structures between Rugby and Coventry are in largely as-built condition. The Sowe Viaduct is one of several engineering works illustrated by

John Cooke Bourne John Cooke Bourne (1 September 1814 – February 1896) was a British artist, engraver and photographer,John Hannavy (2013) ''Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography.''. p. 196. best known for his lithographs showing the construction of th ...

in his ''Series of Lithographic Drawings on the London and Birmingham Railway''. It was designated a 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 and its importance as a "skilful handling of the challenge of crossing the River Sowe", and for the involvement of Stephenson, "one of the most important transport engineers of the 19th century". Several other railway-related structures in Coventry were listed at the same time: (from east to west) 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 ...

, the portals of Humber Road Tunnel, and Mile Lane Bridge.

References

{{Reflist Railway bridges in the West Midlands (county) Grade II listed bridges in England Bridges completed in 1838 1838 establishments in England Bridges in Coventry London and Birmingham Railway