Hewenden Viaduct, situated near

Cullingworth Cullingworth is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Bradford and south of Keighley. The surrounding countryside is mainly ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England, originally served as a railway viaduct along the

Queensbury Lines The Queensbury lines was the name given to a number of railway lines in West Yorkshire, England, that linked Bradford, Halifax and Keighley via Queensbury. All the lines were either solely owned by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) or jointly ...

. Being one of the highest viaducts in Britain, it has been recognised as a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

structure. The viaduct was built for the Great Northern Railway to carry a new branch line between

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

and Thornton. Soon after its official opening in July 1883, the route became of strategic importance for through goods traffic, particularly in connection with the region's extensive textile industry. However, the line's fortunes took a downturn during the twentieth century. During October 1963, the viaduct's use by railway traffic ended as a result of the line's permanently closure. Despite this, it has remained intact. Since 2005, the viaduct has formed part of the Great Northern Railway Trail, trafficked by walkers and cyclists alike.

History

The origins of the Hewenden Viaduct are closely associated with the Great Northern Railway, which decided to construct the

and Thornton branch line from its main route. It was recognised that such a railway represented considerable strategic importance, forming a through route that directly linked several major textile towns in the Pennine foothills whilst bypassing congested existing lines around Leeds and Bradford. The route opted for involved several extensive engineering works, including the viaduct, contributing to the railway's colloquial nickname of the ''Alpine Railway''. Construction of the Hewenden Viaduct commenced around 1880, being built in parallel to the neighbouring the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

-long Lees Moor Tunnel. According to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, the engineer responsible for designing the viaduct was likely the civil engineer Richard Johnson. Over a century following its construction, the viaduct is still regarded as being one of the highest viaducts anywhere in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. It is an extensive structure, standing at a height of and spanning a distance of , supported by a series of 17 arches, each being apart. Due to instability in the ground beneath the viaduct, the foundations of the piers were sunk to a depth in excess of to ensure that the structure would possess sufficient stability and longevity. The five central piers differ from the majority, being considerably thicker and having projecting

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

; all piers were provided with a protective stone facing. The

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

s of the viaduct featured seven projecting retreats, while abutments were located at either end of the structure. During July 1883, the Hewenden Viaduct was officially opened to passenger trains. Goods trains along the route commenced on 1 April 1884. On 11 November 1963, the viaduct and the wider line was permanently closed to railway traffic, being amongst the many victims of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

. Shortly after the withdrawal of railway traffic along the branch, the tracks were lifted across the viaduct, but the structure otherwise remained intact. Since October 1985, the Hewenden Viaduct has been recognised by

as being a

structure. The British walking and cycling charity

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

successfully negotiated with the

British Railways Board The British Railways Board (BRB) was a State ownership, nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to d ...

for a lease of the viaduct's deck for a new walking route, which was constructed in 2005. Presently, the Hewenden Viaduct is being used to carry the Great Northern Railway Trail, being accessible to both walkers and cyclists.

References

External links

* * {{Viaducts in Yorkshire Bridges completed in 1883 Railway viaducts in West Yorkshire Grade II listed bridges Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire Former railway bridges in the United Kingdom Viaducts in England

History

See also

References

External links