Rectory Junction Viaduct, also known as the Radcliffe Viaduct, crosses the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

between Netherfield and

Radcliffe on Trent Radcliffe-on-Trent is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the Census 2011 was 8,205. Location Radcliffe has a population of about 8,000. It is to the eas ...

near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. It is a

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 Ir ...

building.

History

The bridge was built in 1850 by

Clayton & Shuttleworth Clayton & Shuttleworth was an engineering company located at Stamp End Works, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. The company was established in 1842 when Nathaniel Clayton (1811–1890) formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Joseph Shuttlewo ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Linco ...

on the Nottingham-Grantham Line for the

Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway The Ambergate, Nottingham and Boston and Eastern Junction Railway was a British railway company, which hoped to connect Lancashire with the port of Boston, in Lincolnshire. It was authorised in 1846 but was unable to raise much money. It opened a ...

. The

Trent Navigation Company The Trent Navigation Company existed from 1783 to 1940. It was responsible for control of navigation on the River Trent in England. History The Trent Navigation Company was established by Trent Navigation Act 1783 'An Act for improving the Na ...

demanded a minimum

clear span Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge. A span can be closed by a solid beam or by a rope. The first kind is used for bridges, the second one for power lines, overhead telecommunication line ...

of , so the railway company built a cast iron arch. The clearance above the water is . The iron arch was formed of six ribs, constructed in eight segments. The approach viaduct, originally constructed in timber and comprising 32 spans, was rebuilt in brick in 1909-1910 by Alexander Ross. The brick viaduct comprises 28 spans, eighteen are 24 ft 11 ins, and ten are 25 ft 7 ins. The internal cast iron ribs were encased in concrete by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

in 1981 to increase the strength of the bridge, but the original cast iron ribs on the exterior were left exposed, leaving the bridge appearance little changed.

References

{{Reflist Railway viaducts in Nottinghamshire Bridges across the River Trent Bridges completed in 1850 Grade II listed bridges Grade II listed buildings in Nottinghamshire Radcliffe on Trent

History

See also

References