Bolehall Viaduct, also known as Bolebridge Viaduct or the Anker Viaduct, and known locally as the 19 Arches, is a railway bridge in Bolehall (near Tamworth) in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. It was designed by

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...

and opened in 1839 for the

Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway (B&DJR) was a Great Britain, British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Derby Midland Sta ...

. It remains in use and crosses the

River Anker The River Anker flows through Nuneaton, England. It is a major tributary of the River Tame, which it joins in Tamworth. The name derives from the old British for ''winding river''. From source to river mouth at Tamworth is . Course The river ...

. It is a Grade II

listed building 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, Hi ...

History

and

George Parker Bidder George Parker Bidder (13 June 1806 – 20 September 1878) was an English engineer and calculating prodigy. W. W. Rouse Ball (1960) ''Calculating Prodigies'', in Mathematical Recreations and Essays, Macmillan, New York, chapter 13. Early life ...

surveyed the route for the

(BDJR) and designed Bolehall Viaduct. Stephenson relinquished his position as the railway's chief engineer in favour of his son,

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of hi ...

, when construction work began. The resident engineer was

John Birkinshaw John Birkinshaw (1777–1842) was an English railway engineer from Bedlington, Northumberland, noted for his invention of wrought iron rails in 1820 (patented on October 23, 1820). Up to this point, rail systems had used either wooden rails, whi ...

, formerly an assistant engineer to the Stephensons on the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

. The BDJR issued tenders for the contract in May 1837 and the contracts were let in August 1837. By February 1839 the construction was completed and the ballasting was being prepared for the permanent way. The first engine traversed the viaduct on 1 July 1839 and the first train on 6 July. Passenger services began on 12 August 1839.

Description

The viaduct carries the railway across the

, its shallow valley, and two local roads at Bolehall on the south-eastern edge of Tamworth. It consists of 19 arches—18

segmental arch A segmental arch is a type of arch with a circular arc of less than 180 degrees. It is sometimes also called a scheme arch. The segmental arch is one of the strongest arches because it is able to resist Arch#Basic concepts, thrust. To prevent fai ...

es of span and one

skew arch A skew arch (also known as an oblique arch) is a method of construction that enables an arch bridge to span an obstacle at some angle other than a right angle. This results in the faces of the arch not being perpendicular to its abutments and it ...

of , which crosses a road junction. Arches 6 and 7 from the south-east (Birmingham end) to north-west (Derby end) span the river, arch 10 crosses a road, and the skew arch is number 19. The bridge is reaches a maximum height of . It is built from rock-faced sandstone blocks. It has stepped

voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...

s and a substantial

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

which is supported by large, closely spaced

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

s and rises to form the bridge

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 ...

. The piers in the river have rounded cutwaters. The

abutments An abutment is the Bridge#Structure types, substructure at the ends of a bridge Span (architecture), span or dam supporting its Bridge#Structure types, superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and l ...

at each end are swept forward. Under two of the arches are low stone walls which flank entrance gates. The viaduct is a Grade II

, first designated in November 1972, a status which provides it with legal protection. Its list entry calls it "an important landmark at the south east end of Tamworth". The railway historian Gordon Biddle noted that "what it lacks in height and grace is made up for in a boldly rugged appearance".

References

{{Reflist Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire Railway viaducts in Staffordshire Bridges completed in 1839 Grade II listed bridges Midland Railway

History

Description

See also

References