Nidd Viaduct
The Nidd Viaduct, also known as the Bilton Viaduct, is a former railway bridge in Bilton (just north of Harrogate), a village in North Yorkshire, northern England. It crosses the River Nidd and its gorge. It opened in 1847 and closed to trains in the 1960s. It is now a listed building and carries a cycling trail.
History
[edit]In 1845, the Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission to construct a line north from Leeds Wellington railway station to Thirsk railway station.[1] At Bilton, the line had to cross the Nidd Gorge, and work on a viaduct started in 1846,[2] designed by John Cass Birkinshaw.[3] It was constructed of gritstone slabs quarried from the side of the gorge. The viaduct was completed in 1847,[2] and the first train crossed it in 1848.[4] The line closed in 1969,[5] but the viaduct was retained. It was designated a Grade II listed building in May 1987, giving it legal protection.[6] It now carries the Nidderdale Greenway cycle route and is maintained by Sustrans as part of the National Cycle Network.[7]
Description
[edit]The viaduct crosses the River Nidd. It is built of ashlar and gritstone in large, coursed blocks. It consists of seven round arches, three of which cross the river and each spanning 50 feet (15 metres). The piers are in two halves, tapering at the top half, and retain the corbels which were used for the centring during construction. They have rusticated quoins. The arches spring from prominent imposts and have massive stepped voussoirs. There are moulded bands at the impost and a roll cornice at track level. The parapet has flat moulding, and the end piers have projecting coping.[6][3][8] The viaduct reaches a maximum height of 104 feet (32 metres) and is 448 feet (137 m) long.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
- ^ Hoole, K. (1974). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume IV The North East. David & Charles. ISBN 0715364391.
- ^ a b Cowen, Rob (2016). Common Ground: Encounters with Nature at the Edges of Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226424262.
- ^ a b Leach, Peter; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009), Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-12665-5
- ^ "Bilton Viaduct". Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age.
- ^ Newton, Grace (23 August 2022). "Yorkshire sausage brand Heck reinstates lost section of Leeds to Northallerton railway line that closed in 1969". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Nidd Viaduct over River Nidd (1315340)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ "Nidderdale Greenway - Harrogate to Ripley Cycle Route". Sustrans. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Biddle, Gordon (2011). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (second ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan. p. 450. ISBN 9780711034914.
- ^ "Progress of Works: Leeds and Thirsk". Railway Chronicle. No. 224. 19 August 1848.
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