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__NOTOC__ Torksey is a small village in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 875. It is situated on the
A156 road The A156 is an long road that runs from the A57 near Saxilby and heads north to Gainsborough. The road runs entirely within Lincolnshire right next to the border with Nottinghamshire. It is a single carriageway for its entire length apart fro ...
, south of Gainsborough and north-west of the city of Lincoln, and on the eastern bank of the tidal River Trent, which here forms the boundary with Nottinghamshire. It is notable historically as the site of a Roman canal, a major Viking camp, the late medieval
Torksey Castle Torksey Castle is an Elizabethan manor house located in the village of Torksey on the east bank of the River Trent in Lincolnshire, England. It is 12 miles northwest of Lincoln on the A156 road. Seven miles to the north is Gainsborough Old Hall a ...
and the Torksey Viaduct.


History

Foss Dyke, a Roman canal constructed in or about the 2nd century, joins the River Trent by way of a series of lock-gates about half a mile (800 m) south of the village. During the 9th century, Torksey was part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey. In the late 860s, a Viking invasion force known to the English as the " Great Heathen Army" conquered eastern England. In 871–2, the Vikings established a winter camp in London, but returned to Northumbria soon afterwards, following a rebellion against their rule. During 872–3, the Great Heathen Army established its winter quarters at Torksey. The now
Grade I 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 ...
16th-century
Torksey Castle Torksey Castle is an Elizabethan manor house located in the village of Torksey on the east bank of the River Trent in Lincolnshire, England. It is 12 miles northwest of Lincoln on the A156 road. Seven miles to the north is Gainsborough Old Hall a ...
was destroyed in August 1645 during the English Civil War; its remains are on the river side of the
dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...
which separates it from dry land.


Torksey Viaduct

Torksey Viaduct, a disused
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 ...
railway bridge, has two spans across the River Trent. It was built between 1847 and 1849 to carry the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway ( Clarborough Junction-Sykes Junction branch). It is of unusual design and is regarded as the first box girder bridge. It was designed by John Fowler, who had been influenced by
Fairbairn Fairbairn is a surname of Scottish origin which means "a handsome child." Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people *Bill Fairbairn (born 1947), Canadian ice hockey player * Bruce Fairbairn (1949 ...
and
Stephenson Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include: *Ashley Stephen ...
's
tubular bridge A tubular bridge is a bridge built as a rigid box girder section within which the traffic is carried. Famous examples include the original Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait, the Conwy railway bridge over the River Conwy, designed and tested ...
s at Conwy and the
Menai Straits The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...
. The tubular girder bridge was not initially accepted by the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
's inspector Lintorn Simmons;: pages cited give the affair and Fowler's subsequent views this decision (and also the basic premise that a bridge designed by a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers which had passed all practical tests could be rejected by a railway inspector because he was uncomfortable with its novel design) was criticised by the ICE: "The subject has been discussed in the Institution of Civil Engineers, and every eminent engineer was of the opinion that the Government inspector was clearly wrong". Threatened with a call for a parliamentary enquiry should approval continue to be withheld, the Railway Inspectorate reconsidered and approved the bridge un-modified. Subsequently, and consequently, the Board of Trade took the view that (as it explained in defending itself from criticism that the defects in the
Tay Bridge The Tay Bridge ( gd, Drochaid-rèile na Tatha) carries the railway across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is . It is the second bridge to occupy the site. Plans for a bridge over the Tay to ...
should have been seen and acted upon by the Railway Inspectorate): "The duty of an inspecting officer, so far as regards design, is to see that the construction is not such as to transgress those rules and precautions which practice and experience have proved to be necessary for safety. If he were to go beyond this, or if he were to make himself responsible for every novel design, and if he were to attempt to introduce new rules and practices not accepted by the profession, he would be removing from the civil engineer, and taking upon himself a responsibility not committed to him by Parliament." Torksey bridge was strengthened in 1897 by adding a more conventional central truss above the deck rather than by strengthening the box. The viaduct was closed to traffic on 2 November 1959, because of the cost of renovating it at a time when British Railways were under pressure to reduce costs, and passenger trains between Retford and Lincoln were diverted via Gainsborough. The environmental charity Sustrans has carried out work on the viaduct in preparation for opening it as a walk/cycle-way. They obtained planning permission in 2015 for the paths, which Sustrans aimed to link as a walking and cycling route to connect the quiet roads east of Torksey with those west of Cottam, a village about to the west. In April 2016, the viaduct was opened to both cyclists and walkers.


See also

* List of crossings of the River Trent


References


Further reading

* Dawn M. Hadley and Julian D. Richards
"The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire"
'' The Antiquaries Journal'', vol. 96 (2016), pp. 23–67.


External links

* * * * {{authority control Villages in Lincolnshire Civil parishes in Lincolnshire Ruins in Lincolnshire West Lindsey District