Willington Dene Viaduct carries the
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
railway over the Wallsend Burn between
Wallsend
Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne.
History Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...
and Howdon, Tyne and Wear. Designed by architects
John and Benjamin Green
John and Benjamin Green were a father and son who worked in partnership as architects in North East England during the early nineteenth century. John, the father was a civil engineer as well as an architect. Although they did carry out some commi ...
, it was originally built in the late 1830s for the
Newcastle & North Shields Railway
The Newcastle & North Shields Railway opened in June 1839 from a temporary terminus in Carliol Square in Newcastle upon Tyne to North Shields. The railway was absorbed by the Newcastle & Berwick Railway in November 1844. The Newcastle & Berwick ...
. It is 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 ...
.
[ ]
The viaduct is long and high with seven segmental arches each of span. When originally built the viaducts were made of laminated timber construction on the Wiebeking system supported on tall stone pillars and cost £25,000. Each arch was made from 14 layers of timbers held together by trenails and built by Messrs. Robson. A paper on the viaducts's design won Benjamin Green a silver
Telford Medal
The Telford Medal is a prize awarded by the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for a paper or series of papers. It was introduced in 1835 following a bequest made by Thomas Telford, the ICE's first president. It can be awarded in gold ...
from the
Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
in 1841.
The viaduct was rebuilt in iron between 1867 and 1869 by the
Weardale Iron & Coal Company
The Weardale Iron and Coal Company, established in the 1840s, produced iron and steel at Tow Law and Tudhoe in County Durham in England, where it also owned collieries.
History
The founder of the company, Charles Attwood (1791–1875), was born in ...
to the designs of engineer
Thomas Elliot Harrison
Thomas Elliot Harrison (4 April 1808 – 20 March 1888) was a British engineer. Born in Fulham, London, he was raised in the north east of England, where his father was a promoter of early railway companies; after an apprenticeship under William ...
, preserving the bridge's original shape and form. It now carries the
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
rapid transport system between Newcastle and North Shields.
See also
*
Ouseburn Viaduct
Ouseburn Viaduct carries the East Coast Main Line over the Ouseburn Valley through the East End of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Designed by architects John and Benjamin Green, it was originally built in the late 1830s for the Newcastle and North Shields ...
References
{{coord, 54.993, -1.5075, display=title, type:landmark, name = Willington Dene Viaduct
Railway bridges in Tyne and Wear
Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear
John and Benjamin Green buildings and structures