Holborn Viaduct is a road bridge in London and the name of the street which crosses it (which forms part of the A40 route). It links Holborn, via Holborn Circus, with Newgate Street, in the City of London, England financial district, passing over Farringdon Street and the subterranean River Fleet. The viaduct spans the steep-sided Holborn Hill and the River Fleet valley at a length of 1,400 feet (430 m) and 80 feet (24 m) wide. City surveyor William Haywood was the architect and the engineer was Rowland Mason Ordish. [1]
Holborn Viaduct was built between 1863 and 1869, as a part of the Holborn Valley Improvements, which included a public works scheme which, at a cost of over £2.5 million (over £292 million in 2023), 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, the opening of the Embankment section into the City, the continuation of Farringdon Street as Farringdon Road and associated railway routes with Farringdon station and Ludgate Hill station. [2] It was opened by Queen Victoria at the same time as the inauguration of the other thoroughfares with a formal coach drive procession on 6 November 1869. [3]
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 River Fleet which had been culverted between Ludgate Circus to this crossing in 1734 to ascend to the other side using Snow Hill; [4] it was one of the first modern flyovers in central London. [5]
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. The pavilions' parapets are adorned with figurative statues to represent commerce and agriculture on the south side, both by sculptor Henry Bursill, with science and fine art on the north side, by the sculpture firm Farmer & Brindley; there are also statues of lord mayors William Walworth and Henry Fitz-Ailwin. In 1941 the Blitz 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, opened on 2 March 1874, was at the eastern end with a low-level through route towards Farringdon, [6] and was replaced in 1990 by St. Paul's Thameslink railway station (later renamed City Thameslink). [7]
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, 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.
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 Church, along with Blackfriars station. The south end is in the London Borough of Southwark, near the Tate Modern art gallery and the Oxo Tower. Opened in the 1860s, it replaced an earlier bridge from the 1760s.
Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from Bedford, Luton, St Albans City, Peterborough, Welwyn Garden City, London Blackfriars and Cambridge via central London to Sutton, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Rainham, Horsham, Three Bridges, Brighton and East Grinstead. The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than 28,000 passengers in the morning peak. All the services are currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. Parts of the network, from Bedford to Three Bridges, run 24 hours a day, except on early Sunday mornings and during maintenance periods.
The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. It has been used as a culverted sewer since the development of Joseph Bazalgette's London sewer system in the mid-19th century with the water being treated at Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds—in the 18th century. At the southern edge of Hampstead Heath these descend underground as sewers and join in Camden Town. The waters flow 4 miles (6 km) from the ponds.
King's Cross Thameslink station is a closed railway station in central London, England. It is located on Pentonville Road, around 250 metres (0.2 mi) east of King's Cross mainline station. At the time of closure, in 2007, it was served by Thameslink trains and managed by First Capital Connect. Services have been transferred to a new station underneath St Pancras.
Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local, and regional and limited Southeastern commuter services to South East London and Kent. Its platforms span the River Thames, the only one in London to do so, along the length of Blackfriars Railway Bridge, a short distance downstream from Blackfriars Bridge. There are two station entrances either side of the Thames, along with a connection to the London Underground District and Circle lines.
Snow Hill tunnel is a railway tunnel on the northern edge of the City of London which carries the up and down Snow Hill lines between City Thameslink and Farringdon stations. The tunnel runs beneath the Smithfield meat market and was constructed, using the cut-and-cover method, immediately prior to the building of the market. The tunnel opened on 1 January 1866.
Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760.
City Thameslink is a central London railway station within the City of London, with entrances on Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct. The station is on the Thameslink route between Blackfriars to the south and Farringdon to the north.
Blackfriars is in central London, specifically the south-west corner of the City of London.
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.
Rowland Mason Ordish 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 William Henry Barlow (1868) and the Albert Bridge, a crossing of the River Thames in London, completed in 1873.
The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London, England. The group contains all 14 terminal stations in central London, either serving major national services or local commuter routes, and 4 other through-stations that are considered terminals for ticketing purposes. All current stations in the group fall within London fare zone 1. A ticket marked "London Terminals" allows travel to any station in the group via any permitted route, as determined by the National Routeing Guide.
Ludgate Hill was a railway station in the City of London that was opened on 1 June 1865 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR) as its City terminus. It was on Ludgate Viaduct between Queen Victoria Street and Ludgate Hill, slightly north of St. Paul's station on the site of the former Fleet Prison.
Ludgate Circus is a road junction in the City of London where Farringdon Street/New Bridge Street crosses Fleet Street/Ludgate Hill.
The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6 billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the south of London. The development facilitated new cross-London journeys, which means that passengers no longer have to change trains in London. Work included platform lengthening, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure, and new rolling stock. The project was originally proposed in 1991 following the successful introduction of the initial Thameslink service in 1988. After many delays, planning permission was granted in 2006 and funding was approved in October 2007. Work started in 2009 and was completed on 18 September 2020, although trains over the new routes began running in 2018.
The Widened Lines is a double-track railway line forming part of the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Farringdon within Central London.
The A201 is an A road in London, England running from Kings Cross to Bricklayer's Arms.
Ludgate Circus was a planned London Underground station that would have formed part of "phase 2" of the Fleet line had it been completed. Taking its name from the nearby Ludgate Circus in the City of London financial district, preliminary preparation work was begun in the 1970s, but the plan was later postponed due to lack of funds.
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 Electric Light Company.
The Holborn Viaduct–Herne Hill line is a railway line between Holborn Viaduct in the City of London and Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth. After the closure of Holborn Viaduct station the line ends at the south portal of Snow Hill tunnel merging into Snow Hill lines. From there the Widened Lines to St Pancras and Kentish Town are reached. Today the section north of Blackfriars is part of the Thameslink core. Originally being a branch line of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) towards the City of London, the line is sometimes called LCDR City Branch.