The Monmouth Viaduct or Chippenham Meadow Viaduct is a 20-arch 183m red sandstone viaduct, with two 23m steel lattice-girder spans over the river. It carried the
Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway line across the
River Wye
The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...
at
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. A further river crossing by the
Ross and Monmouth Railway
The Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Ross-on-Wye, in Herefordshire, England and Monmouth, Wales.
It was authorised in 1865 and opened in 1873, with a final extension at Monmouth delayed until 1874. It ...
was later built nearby.
The
Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway was opened in 1857, running from
Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
to
Monmouth Troy. The single-track line was extended in 1861 to
Wyesham Halt on the east side of the viaduct. The bridge which was originally planned to carry the line onwards to
Coleford. However, the line terminated at
Wyesham
Wyesham is a village and electoral ward in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located less than one mile east of Monmouth, on the opposite side of the River Wye.
History and amenities
Wyesham is effectively a suburb of Monmouth the county town ...
and was not extended to Coleford as the Great Western Railway and West Midland Railway did not pursue the extension. The bridge was not heavily used until 1876 when the Wye Valley Railway completed its line from
Chepstow and south Wales. In 1883 the
Coleford Railway
The Coleford Railway was a railway company that constructed a short railway from near Monmouth to Coleford, close to the Forest of Dean. The company was sponsored by the Great Western Railway. It was built on part of the course of the Monmouth Ra ...
was constructed from Wyesham Junction to Coleford but was closed as being uneconomical in 1916.
[Alan Crow, ''Bridges on the River Wye'', Lapridge Publications, 1995, , Page 138-140]
The viaduct was originally planned to be constructed of wood, but the 1852 floods influenced the engineers to change to stone. The building of the viaduct took exactly ten months. It contains 9,000 cubic yards of masonry and 3,000 cubic yards of concrete. Two arches form the 20m long eastern element of the structure. The bridge was designed by Christopher Firbank and built by Kennards of Crumlin. It was about 50 feet above the water and lay on two 150-foot girders resting on the stone arches. Large crowds assembled to watch the bridge being put into place in 1861.
Keith Kissack
Keith Edward Kissack MBE (18 November 1913 – 31 March 2010) was a British schoolteacher and historian. He is notable for his many publications on the history of Monmouth and Monmouthshire.
Life
Kissack was born in Clun, Shropshire, to Rev. ...
, ''Victorian Monmouth'', The Monmouth Historical and Educational trust, , page 169 Only the stone parts of the viaduct are extant today.
Duke of Beaufort Bridge
The Ross and Monmouth Railway line opened in 1873 terminating at
Monmouth Mayhill railway station. A further single line and three-span bridge of almost 300 feet was constructed to join the two Monmouth railway stations, opening on 1 May 1874. It consists of 3 spans of steel-lattice girders on paired steel tubular piers with squared rubble abutments. The main span is 46 metres long and the shorter spans are 18 metres each. It was built by Edward Finch of
Chepstow.
[
The line between Monmouth Troy and Mayhill was closed on 6 January 1964. The R&MR Duke of Beaufort Bridge remains in use as a footpath. A Sustrans project aims to restore and redeck the bridge as part of improving local cycle connectivity.]
See also
*List of crossings of the River Wye
Crossings of the River Wye in the UK cover the whole length of the from its source to the River Severn. For much of its length the river forms part of the border between England and Wales. The lower Wye Valley is an Area of Outstanding Natur ...
Gallery
External links
Monmouth Viaduct at forgottenrelics.co.ukMonmouth Viaduct at Coflein websiteDuke of Beaufort Bridge at Coflein website
References
{{Buildings in Monmouth
Railway viaducts in Wales
Railway bridges in Monmouthshire
Buildings and structures in Monmouth, Wales
Demolished bridges in Wales
Bridges across the River Wye