Spon End Viaduct is a railway bridge which spans the

River Sherbourne The River Sherbourne is a river that flows under the centre of the city of Coventry, in the West Midlands, in England. The source of the river is in the fields near Hawkes End in the parish of Allesley. It flows for about 8 miles or 13 km ...

Spon End Spon End is a suburb of Coventry, England. It is situated west of Coventry city centre. The Butts Park Arena and a Premier Inn hotel are situated on the main road through Spon End. The Butts Park Arena, which was opened in 2004, is the home of C ...

, just west of the city centre 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.

Description and history

The viaduct is just north of

Coventry station Coventry railway station is the main railway station serving the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England. The station is on the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line (WCML); it is also located at the centre of a junction where the li ...

on the Coventry to Nuneaton railway line. It spans the

and its flat valley as it passes through

, a suburb just to the west of

city centre. Construction started in 1848 and the line opened in 1850. The viaduct is a quarter of a mile (0.4 kilometres) long and consists of 28 arches, each with a span. In 1857, 23 of the arches collapsed. The collapse was blamed on shoddy workmanship and poor quality materials. The collapsed section was rebuilt but the line was not able to reopen until October 1860. Not all of the viaduct was rebuilt, as part of the original viaduct was deemed to be good enough to be reused. An act of parliament had to be sought to authorise the reconstruction works. In the meantime, Coundon Road became the temporary terminus of the line. The stone for the original arches may have been from a lineside quarry near Coundon Road station, which is just north of the viaduct. The rebuilt arches were in blue

engineering brick Engineering bricks are a type of brick used where strength, low water porosity or acid (flue gas) resistance are needed. Engineering bricks can be used for damp-proof courses. Clay engineering bricks are defined in ''§ 6.4.51'' of ''British Sta ...

and joined on to the remaining stone arches. The height and width of the arches make the viaduct a prominent local landmark. It is on

Coventry City Council Coventry City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Coventry in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. Coventry ...

's register of

locally 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 ...

s and forms part of the Spon End

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, which was declared in 2003. George Demidowicz, in an architectural history of Coventry, compared the viaduct to the

Coat of Arms Bridge The Coat of Arms Bridge is a grade II listed structure on the Coventry–Leamington Spa railway line in the Stivichall area of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. The bridge was built by R.B. Dockray for the London and Birmingham Railway ...

to the south on the line to

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

. He described the viaduct as "on a very different scale" and dominating Spon End, which is otherwise characterised by some of Coventry's few remaining medieval buildings.

References

{{reflist Bridges in Coventry Bridges completed in 1850 1850 establishments in England Railway bridges in the West Midlands (county)

Description and history

See also

References