Blue Bridge, Wolverton

Last updated
Blue Bridge, Wolverton
Coordinates 52°03′21″N0°48′03″W / 52.05583°N 0.800962°W / 52.05583; -0.800962
CrossesDisused cutting, West Coast Main Line
Locale Wolverton, Milton Keynes, England
Maintained by Network Rail
Heritage statusGrade II listed building
Characteristics
MaterialBrick
No. of spans5
History
Opened1838
Location
Blue Bridge, Wolverton

Blue Bridge was built in the 1830s to span the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) but now spans an empty cutting near Wolverton Works in Buckinghamshire, southern England. It was designed by Robert Stephenson, the L&BR's chief engineer and extended in the 1880s when the line was widened. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]

Contents

Description

The bridge is an accommodation bridge, built to provide access to a farm after the road was severed by the construction of the railway. It has three elliptical arches in blue engineering brick which stand on piers of local coursed, squared limestone, faced with rock. The arches have substantial stone imposts and a stone course below parapet level. The parapets are in brick with a combination of stone and concrete coping. The much larger extension was built onto the end of the original. It has a pair of segmental arches almost entirely in blue brick. It has a broad stone roll cornice and a stepped parapet at the far end from the original bridge. [1] [2]

History

The original bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson, the chief engineer to the London and Birmingham Railway, and was opened at roughly the same time as the line in 1838. The extension was built between 1878 and 1882 when the L&BR's successor, the London and North Western Railway quadruple-tracked the line. At the same time, the line was diverted slightly to the east to allow for an extension of Wolverton Works. The cutting under the original bridge is now empty. the line is now the West Coast Main Line, which passes under the extension. The bridge has since been bypassed by a modern replacement and is now disused. [1] [2]

The original bridge is unusual among Stephenson's bridges in being built from stone rather than brick, likely material excavated from the cutting it spans. All other overbridges on this section of line were rebuilt in the 1950s when overhead electrification equipment was installed, making the Blue Bridge a possibly unique survivor. It is one of multiple surviving original L&BR bridges in the vicinity, including a bridge over the canal, that over Old Wolverton Road, and Wolverton Viaduct to the north of the town. The Blue Bridge has been a Grade II listed building 2001. Listed status provides legal protection from demolition or unsympathetic alteration. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London and Birmingham Railway</span> Early British railway company (1837–1846)

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galton Bridge</span> Cast-iron bridge in West Midlands, England

The Galton Bridge is a cast-iron bridge in Smethwick, near Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Opened in 1829 as a road bridge, the structure has been pedestrianised since the 1970s. It was built by Thomas Telford to carry a road across the new main line of the Birmingham Canal, which was built in a deep cutting. The bridge is 70 feet above the canal, making it reputedly the highest single-span arch bridge in the world when it was built, 26 feet wide, and 150 feet long. The iron components were fabricated at the nearby Horseley Ironworks and assembled atop the masonry abutments. The design includes decorative lamp-posts and X-shaped bracing in the spandrels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolverton railway station</span> Railway station in Milton Keynes, England

Wolverton railway station serves Wolverton, a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The station is on the West Coast Main Line, about 52 miles (84 km) from Euston, between Milton Keynes Central and Northampton. The station is one of the seven stations serving the Milton Keynes urban area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sankey Viaduct</span> Bridge

The Sankey Viaduct is a railway viaduct in North West England. It is a designated Grade I listed building and has been described as being "the earliest major railway viaduct in the world".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skew arch</span> Method of construction

A skew 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 its plan view being a parallelogram, rather than the rectangle that is the plan view of a regular, or "square" arch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Irwell Railway Bridge</span> Bridge in Manchester, England

The River Irwell Railway Bridge was built for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&MR), the world's first passenger railway which used only steam locomotives and operated as a scheduled service, near Water Street in Manchester, England. The stone railway bridge, built in 1830 by George Stephenson, was part of Liverpool Road railway station. The bridge was designated a Grade I listed building on 19 June 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stowe Hill Tunnel</span> Railway tunnel in Northamptonshire, England

Stowe Hill Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line just south of the village of Weedon, Northamptonshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roade Cutting</span>

Roade Cutting, also known as Blisworth Cutting, is a railway earthwork and 15.2-hectare (38-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest along the West Coast Main Line north from Roade in Northamptonshire, England. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primrose Hill Tunnel</span> Railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line

Primrose Hill Tunnel is a 1,164-yard (1,064 m) railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from Euston station. It is located in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, just north of Primrose Hill park and consists of two bores: the slow line to the northern side, driven through the London clay by the engineer Robert Stephenson for the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838, and the fast line to its south, added by the London and North Western Railway in 1879. The original tunnel's Italianate portals were designed by William Budden and later replicated for the fast line. The western portals have been listed at Grade II and the eastern at Grade II* since 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolverton Works canal bridge</span> Bridge in Milton Keynes, England

The Wolverton Works canal bridge, or Bridge no. 171C, is a bridge over the Grand Union Canal in Wolverton, Milton Keynes in south-eastern England. It carries a spur from the West Coast Main Line into Wolverton Works. It was built in 1834–1835 for the London and Birmingham Railway under the supervision of Robert Stephenson and has been little modified since. It is a grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Viaduct</span> Bridge in Warwickshire, England

Brandon Viaduct is a railway viaduct crossing the River Avon between the villages of Brandon and Wolston in Warwickshire. It carries the Birmingham Loop line and is roughly half way between Rugby and Coventry. The bridge was built in around 1835 for the London and Birmingham Railway and is now a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mile Lane Bridge</span> Bridge in Coventry, England

Mile Lane Bridge is a road-over-rail bridge in Coventry, central England. It is possibly the first use of a flying arch over a railway cutting and is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolverton Viaduct</span> Bridge in Milton Keynes, England

Wolverton Viaduct is a railway bridge carrying the West Coast Main Line over the River Great Ouse to the north of Wolverton, part of Milton Keynes, in south-eastern England. Built in 1838 for the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) to the design of Robert Stephenson, it was the largest viaduct on the L&BR's route. It is in the centre of Wolverton Embankment, itself the largest on the line. It has six brick arches and covers a distance of 660 feet, reaching a maximum height of 57 feet above the river, and terminating in substantial abutments which contain decorative arches. The viaduct and embankment feature in drawings by John Cooke Bourne. Several contemporary commentators likened Stephenson's bridges to Roman aqueducts. Some modern engineers and railway historians have suggested that Wolverton Viaduct is not as innovative or impressive as some that followed but nonetheless praised its visual impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blisworth Arch</span> Bridge in Northamptonshire, England

The Blisworth Arch is a railway bridge in Blisworth, Northamptonshire, in eastern England. It was designed by Robert Stephenson for the London and Birmingham Railway and completed in 1837. It is a grade II listed building and a significant local landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushey Arches Viaduct</span> Bridge in Bushey, Hertfordshire

Bushey Arches Viaduct is a railway bridge on the West Coast Main Line immediately north of Bushey railway station, between Bushey and Watford, in Hertfordshire, Eastern England, just north-west of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbots Langley railway bridge</span> Bridge in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire

Abbots Langley railway bridge, also known as the bridge over Railway Terrace is a skew bridge carrying the West Coast Main Line over a road near Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, in Eastern England. The angle of the bridge creates a 25-metre (82-foot) tunnel along the road. It was built in 1837 and is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nash Mills railway bridge</span> Bridge in Nash Mills, Hertfordshire

Nash Mills railway bridge carries the West Coast Main Line railway over the Grand Union Canal to the west of Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, Eastern England. The bridge was built to the designs of Robert Stephenson for the London and Birmingham Railway and completed in 1837. Although modified, it is still in use and is Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tring Cutting</span> Railway cutting in England

Tring Cutting is an earthwork on the southern part of the West Coast Main Line on the Hertfordshire–Buckinghamshire boundary near Tring in southern England. It was built for the London and Birmingham Railway to the specification of Robert Stephenson and opened with the line in 1837. The cutting is 2.5 miles long and has an average depth of 40 feet but reaches 60 feet at some points, making it one of the largest engineering works on the London and Birmingham's line. Three bridges that cross the cutting were built at the same time as the line and are listed buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Wolverton Road Bridge</span> Bridge in Milton Keynes, England

Old Wolverton Road Bridge carries the West Coast Main Line over Old Wolverton Road just north of Wolverton Works in Buckinghamshire, southern England. It was designed by Robert Stephenson for the London and Birmingham Railway and opened with the line in 1838. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weedon Viaduct</span> Railway viaduct in Weedon Bec, Daventry, Northamptonshire, England

Weedon Viaduct is a railway bridge carrying the West Coast Main Line through Weedon Bec in Northamptonshire, England. It was designed by Robert Stephenson for the London and Birmingham Railway and opened in 1838. It is a Grade II listed building.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Blue Bridge (1246101)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 Biddle, Gordon (2011). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (second ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan. p. 105. ISBN   9780711034914.