Royal Procession under the Holborn Valley Viaduct, 1869 ILN

Holborn Viaduct is a road bridge in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the name of the street which crosses it (which forms part of the A40 route). It links

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

, via

Holborn Circus Holborn Circus is a five-way junction at the western extreme of the City of London, specifically between Holborn (St Andrew) and its Hatton Garden (St Alban) part. Its main, east–west, route is the inchoate A40 road. It was designed by the en ...

, with Newgate Street, in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

financial district, passing over Farringdon Street and the subterranean

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds a ...

. The viaduct spans the steep-sided Holborn Hill and the River Fleet valley at a length of and wide. City surveyor William Haywood was the architect and the engineer was

Rowland Mason Ordish Rowland Mason Ordish (11 April 1824 – 1886) was an English engineer. He is most noted for his design of the Winter Garden, Dublin (1865), for his detailed work on the single-span roof of London's St Pancras railway station, undertaken with Wil ...

History

Holborn Viaduct was built between 1863 and 1869, as a part of the Holborn Valley Improvements, which included a

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

scheme which, at a cost of over £2.5 million (over £ in ), improved access into the City from the West End, with better traffic flow and distribution around the new Holborn Circus, the creation of Queen Victoria Street, the rebuilding of

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Ch ...

, the opening of the Embankment section into the City, the continuation of Farringdon Street as Farringdon Road and associated railway routes with

Farringdon station Farringdon is a London Underground and connected main line National Rail station in Clerkenwell, central London. The station is in the London Borough of Islington, just outside the boundary of the City of London. Opened in 1863 as the terminu ...

and Ludgate Hill station. It was opened by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

at the same time as the inauguration of the other thoroughfares with a formal coach drive procession on 6 November 1869. The viaduct effected a more level approach on the crossing of this section of the Holborn/Fleet valley from east to west, across Farringdon Street. Previously this involved horse-drawn traffic having to descend from High Holborn along Charterhouse Street to the smaller Holborn Bridge, crossing the

which had been culverted between Ludgate Circus to this crossing in 1734 to ascend to the other side using Snow Hill; it was one of the first modern flyovers in central London."A Dictionary of London", by Henry A Harben, published 1918, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63171 Pedestrian access between the two street levels was effected via four pavilions, at each side and either end, containing staircases for access from the viaduct to Farringdon Street below; with their parapets adorned with figurative statues to represent

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

on the south side, both by sculptor Henry Bursill, with

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

on the north side, by the sculpture firm Farmer & Brindley; there are also statues of lord mayors

William Walworth Sir William Walworth (died 1385) was an English nobleman and politician who was twice Lord Mayor of London (1374–75 and 1380–81). He is best known for killing Wat Tyler during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. Political career His family ca ...

and Henry Fitz-Ailwin. In 1941

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

raids destroyed and damaged most of the area including the north side pavilions; these were copied and reinstated with associated property developments in 2000 (western) and 2014 (eastern), including lifts.

Holborn Viaduct railway station Holborn Viaduct was a railway station in the City of London, providing local and commuter services. It was located to the southeast of Holborn Viaduct, and east of Farringdon Street. The station was opened in 1874 by the London, Chatham and Dov ...

, opened on 2 March 1874, was at the eastern end with a low-level through route towards Farringdon, and was replaced in 1990 by St. Paul's Thameslink railway station (later renamed City Thameslink). In 1882, 57 Holborn Viaduct, on the north-eastern side, became home to the world's first coal-fired power station, the

Edison Electric Light Station Holborn Viaduct power station, named the Edison Electric Light Station, was the world's first coal-fired power station generating electricity for public use. It was built at number 57 Holborn Viaduct in central London, by Thomas Edison's Edison ...

, operational from 1882 to 1886. The building in which it was housed was destroyed by bombing during the Blitz, and the large building called 60 Holborn Viaduct has since subsumed the site.

References

* * {{Coord, 51, 31, 01.91, N, 0, 06, 18.25, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Streets in the City of London Bridges in the City of London Viaducts in England Buildings and structures in Holborn Grade II listed buildings in the City of London Grade II listed bridges in London

History

See also

References