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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox bridge
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Kielder Viaduct
|name = Kielder Viaduct
|image = Kielder viaduct (1).jpg
|native_name =
|image = Kielder viaduct (1).jpg
|alt =
|caption = Kielder skew viaduct, built to carry the Border Counties Railway over Deadwater Burn
|image_size = 250px
|coordinates = {{coord|55.2247|-2.5799|region:GB_type:landmark}}
|alt =
|os_grid_reference = NY632924
|caption = Kielder skew viaduct, built to carry the Border Counties Railway over Deadwater Burn
|official_name =
|official_name =
|carries = {{ubl|[https://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/englandnorthumberlandkielderkielderhawkhopecarparknorthumbrianwaterlakesidewaycycletrail Lakeside Way]|Cycles|Pedestrians}}
|carries = Footpath
|crosses = Deadwater Burn
|crosses = Deadwater Burn
|locale = Kielder, [[Northumberland]]
|locale = [[Northumberland]]
|maint =
|owner = Northumberland & Newcastle Society
|id =
|maint =
|designer = John Furness Tone
|id =
|design = Skew viaduct
|designer = John Furness Tone
|material = Stone
|design = [[Skew arch]] viaduct
|spans = 7
|material = Stone
|pierswater = 3
|spans = 7
|mainspan = Seven spans of {{convert|40|ft|m}}
|pierswater = 3
|length = {{convert|392|ft|m}}
|mainspan = Seven spans of {{cvt|40|ft}}
|width =
|length = {{cvt|392|ft}}
|height =
|width =
|load =
|height =
|clearance =
|load =
|below =
|clearance_above =
|traffic =
|clearance_below =
|begin = 1858
|begin = 1858
|complete = 1862
|complete = 1862
|open =
|open = {{start date|df=y|1862}}
|preceded =
|preceded =
|followed =
|followed =
|heritage = [[Scheduled monument]]<ref name=nhle /><ref name=pastscape />
|heritage =
|collapsed =
|collapsed =
|closed =
|closed = {{end date|1958|09|01|df=y}}, as a railway
|toll =
|extra =
|map_cue =
|map_image =
|map_alt =
|map_text =
|map_width =
|coordinates = {{coord|55|13.47|N|2|34.78|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|lat =
|long =
|extra =
}}
}}
'''Kielder Viaduct''' consists of seven semi-circular masonry [[skew arch]]es and was built in 1862 to carry the [[North British Railway]] across marshy land, which following flooding to create [[Kielder Water]], became the place where Deadwater Burn joins [[Bakethin Reservoir]].<ref name="geograph">{{cite web|url=http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/817633|title=NY6392 : Kielder Viaduct|author=Peter McDermott|publisher=[[Geograph]]|accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref> Now closed to rail traffic, the bridge is currently used as a footpath.
'''Kielder Viaduct''' consists of seven semi-circular masonry [[skew arch]]es and was built in 1862 by the [[North British Railway]] to carry the [[Border Counties Railway|Border Counties Line]] across marshy land, which following flooding to create [[Kielder Water]], became the place where Deadwater Burn joins [[Bakethin Reservoir]].<ref name="geograph">{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/817633 |title=NY6392 : Kielder Viaduct|author=Peter McDermott |publisher=[[Geograph]] |access-date=2009-08-24 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Now closed to rail traffic, the bridge is currently used as a footpath.


==History==
==History==
[[File:Kielder viaduct (2).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Kielder Viaduct, spandrel detail]]
[[File:Kielder viaduct (2).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Kielder Viaduct, spandrel detail]]
[[File:Kielder viaduct (3).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Kielder Viaduct, information plaque]]
[[File:Kielder viaduct (3).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Kielder Viaduct, information plaque]]
The viaduct was conceived in a joint project of the [[Border Counties Railway]] and the North British Railway as part of the former's extension to Riccarton Junction. The project was completed in 1862 but the Border Counties Railway had been absorbed by the North British Railway two years earlier. In order to meet with the approval of local landowner the [[Duke of Northumberland]] who had a shooting lodge nearby, the viaduct was built in a [[Scots baronial style|Baronial]] style and decorated with a battlemented parapet and faux [[Balistraria|arrow slits]].<ref name="rennison">{{cite book|title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Northern England|first=Robert W.|last=Rennison|edition=2nd|publisher=Thomas Telford|location=|year=1996|page=28|isbn=0-7277-2518-1|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Bv2BrOMo8cIC&pg=PA28}}</ref><ref name="brontyne">{{cite web|url=http://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/kdrlwy.html|title=North Tyne – Kielder Railway Viaduct|publisher=Bridges On The Tyne|accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref>
The viaduct was conceived in a joint project of the [[Border Counties Railway]] and the North British Railway as part of the former's extension to {{stnlnk|Riccarton Junction}} in Scotland. The project was completed in 1862 but the Border Counties Railway had been absorbed by the North British Railway two years earlier. In order to meet with the approval of local landowner the [[Duke of Northumberland]] who had a shooting lodge nearby, the viaduct was built in a [[Scots baronial style|Baronial]] style and decorated with a battlemented parapet and faux [[Balistraria|arrow slits]].<ref name="rennison">{{cite book |title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Northern England |first=Robert W. |last=Rennison |edition=2nd| publisher=[[Thomas Telford (publisher)|Thomas Telford]]|year=1996 |page=28 |isbn=0-7277-2518-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bv2BrOMo8cIC&pg=PA28 }}</ref><ref name="brontyne">{{cite web |url=http://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/kdrlwy.html |title=North Tyne – Kielder Railway Viaduct |website=Bridges On The Tyne |access-date=2009-08-24 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>


Robert Nicholson had been the engineer responsible for building the first section of the line but, on his death in 1855, his nephew John Furness Tone (1822–1881)<ref name="toneobit">{{cite web|url=http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/article/10.1680/imotp.1882.22011|title=Obituary. John Furness Tone, 1822–1881|publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers|accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref> took on the task of completing the project and it was under his direction that contractors William Hutchinson and John Ridley built the viaduct.<ref name="rennison"/> The arches are constructed at a skewed angle and the stones are laid along helical courses, according to a set of principles attributed to architect and mathematician [[Peter Nicholson (architect)|Peter Nicholson]].<ref name="forgottenrelics">{{cite web|url=http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/kielder.html|title=Kielder Viaduct|publisher=Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age|accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="nicholson">{{cite book|title=A Popular and Practical Treatise on Masonry and Stone-cutting|first=Peter|last=Nicholson|publisher=Thomas Hurst, Edward Chance & Co|location=London|edition=1st|year=1828|pages=39–60|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vZc-wqkOadIC&pg=PA39}}</ref>
Robert Nicholson had been the engineer responsible for building the first section of the line but, on his death in 1855, his nephew John Furness Tone (1822–1881)<ref name="toneobit">{{cite web |url=http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/article/10.1680/imotp.1882.22011 |title=Obituary. John Furness Tone, 1822–1881 |publisher=[[Institution of Civil Engineers]] |access-date=2009-08-24 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> took on the task of completing the project and it was under his direction that contractors William Hutchinson and John Ridley built the viaduct.<ref name="rennison"/> The arches are constructed at a skewed angle and the stones are laid along helical courses, according to a set of principles attributed to architect and mathematician [[Peter Nicholson (architect)|Peter Nicholson]].<ref name="forgottenrelics">{{cite web |url=http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/kielder.html |title=Kielder Viaduct |website=Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age |access-date=2009-08-24 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="nicholson">{{cite book |title=A Popular and Practical Treatise on Masonry and Stone-cutting |first=Peter |last=Nicholson |publisher=Thomas Hurst, Edward Chance & Co |location=[[London]] |edition=1st |year=1828 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/apopularandprac00nichgoog/page/n93 39]–60 |url=https://archive.org/details/apopularandprac00nichgoog}}</ref>


The railway company had hoped to tap the coal traffic from [[Plashetts]] colliery that opened in the 1850s but this proved disappointing, although there was some traffic from forestry in the area.<ref name="brontyne"/> Passenger traffic was always limited, though the line did open up the North Tyne valley and was in part responsible for the increase in population there.<ref name="brontyne"/> The North British Railway therefore gained its own route between [[Edinburgh]] and [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] via [[Hexham]] but it compared poorly with the route via [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]], taking almost five hours to complete the journey.<ref name="brontyne"/>
The railway company had hoped to tap the coal traffic from [[Plashetts]] colliery that opened nearby in the 1850s but this proved disappointing, although there was some traffic from forestry in the area.<ref name="brontyne"/> Passenger traffic was always limited, though the line did open up the North Tyne valley and was in part responsible for the increase in population there.<ref name="brontyne"/> The North British Railway, therefore, gained its own route between [[Edinburgh]] and [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] via [[Hexham]] but it compared poorly with the route via [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]], taking almost five hours to complete the journey.<ref name="brontyne"/>


On 1 January 1923 ownership of the viaduct, along with the rest of the line, passed to the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] and thence to the North Eastern region of [[British Railways]] on [[nationalisation]] in 1948. The line through Kielder lost its passenger service on 15 October 1956 and closed completely on 1 September 1958 and the viaduct's future became uncertain when the £167&nbsp;million [[Kielder Water|Kielder reservoir]] project was begun in 1976, a substantial part of the route of the old line being lost under the waters.<ref name="brontyne"/> However, steps were taken by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society<ref name="brontyne"/><ref name="nandn">{{cite web|url=http://www.nandnsociety.org.uk/index.html|title=The Northumberland and Newcastle Society Home page|publisher=Northumberland & Newcastle Society|accessdate=1 February 2011}}</ref> to protect the viaduct itself by encasing the bases of its piers in concrete and waterproofing the bridge deck.<ref name="rennison"/><ref name="brontyne2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/kdrlwy.html|title=North Tyne Hexham to Kielder|publisher=Bridges On The Tyne|accessdate=24 August 2009}}</ref> The structure is now a [[Scheduled Monument]] and forms part of a footpath from which walkers can enjoy the views from the top of its arches.<ref name="forgottenrelics"/>
On 1 January 1923 ownership of the viaduct, along with the rest of the line, passed to the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] and thence to the North Eastern region of [[British Railways]] on [[nationalisation]] in 1948. The line through Kielder lost its passenger service on 15 October 1956 and closed completely on 1 September 1958 and the viaduct's future became uncertain when the £167&nbsp;million [[Kielder Water|Kielder reservoir]] project was begun in 1976, a substantial part of the route of the old line being lost under the waters.<ref name="brontyne"/> However, steps were taken by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society<ref name="brontyne"/><ref name="nandn">{{cite web |url=http://www.nandnsociety.org.uk/index.html |title=The Northumberland and Newcastle Society Home page |publisher=Northumberland & Newcastle Society |access-date=2011-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929223008/http://www.nandnsociety.org.uk/index.html |archive-date=2011-09-29 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> to protect the viaduct itself by encasing the bases of its piers in concrete and waterproofing the bridge deck.<ref name="rennison"/><ref name=brontyne/>
The structure is now a [[Scheduled Monument]]<ref name=nhle>{{NHLE|num=1002913 |desc=Kielder Viaduct |accessdate=2018-09-08 }}</ref><ref name=pastscape>{{PastScape |num= 14588 |desc=Kielder Viaduct |access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> and forms part of a footpath from which walkers can enjoy the views from the top of its arches.<ref name="forgottenrelics"/>


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==References==
==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}
{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}
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[[Category:Railway bridges in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Railway bridges in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Arch bridges]]
[[Category:Skew bridges]]
[[Category:Skew bridges]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1862]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1862]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Former railway bridges in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Stone arch bridges]]

Latest revision as of 11:27, 22 May 2023

Kielder Viaduct
Kielder skew viaduct, built to carry the Border Counties Railway over Deadwater Burn
Coordinates55°13′29″N 2°34′48″W / 55.2247°N 2.5799°W / 55.2247; -2.5799
OS grid referenceNY632924
Carries
CrossesDeadwater Burn
LocaleNorthumberland
OwnerNorthumberland & Newcastle Society
Heritage statusScheduled monument[1][2]
Characteristics
DesignSkew arch viaduct
MaterialStone
Total length392 ft (119 m)
Longest spanSeven spans of 40 ft (12 m)
No. of spans7
Piers in water3
History
DesignerJohn Furness Tone
Construction start1858
Construction end1862
Opened1862 (1862)
Closed1 September 1958 (1958-09-01), as a railway
Location
Map

Kielder Viaduct consists of seven semi-circular masonry skew arches and was built in 1862 by the North British Railway to carry the Border Counties Line across marshy land, which following flooding to create Kielder Water, became the place where Deadwater Burn joins Bakethin Reservoir.[3] Now closed to rail traffic, the bridge is currently used as a footpath.

History

[edit]
Kielder Viaduct, spandrel detail
Kielder Viaduct, information plaque

The viaduct was conceived in a joint project of the Border Counties Railway and the North British Railway as part of the former's extension to Riccarton Junction in Scotland. The project was completed in 1862 but the Border Counties Railway had been absorbed by the North British Railway two years earlier. In order to meet with the approval of local landowner the Duke of Northumberland who had a shooting lodge nearby, the viaduct was built in a Baronial style and decorated with a battlemented parapet and faux arrow slits.[4][5]

Robert Nicholson had been the engineer responsible for building the first section of the line but, on his death in 1855, his nephew John Furness Tone (1822–1881)[6] took on the task of completing the project and it was under his direction that contractors William Hutchinson and John Ridley built the viaduct.[4] The arches are constructed at a skewed angle and the stones are laid along helical courses, according to a set of principles attributed to architect and mathematician Peter Nicholson.[7][8]

The railway company had hoped to tap the coal traffic from Plashetts colliery that opened nearby in the 1850s but this proved disappointing, although there was some traffic from forestry in the area.[5] Passenger traffic was always limited, though the line did open up the North Tyne valley and was in part responsible for the increase in population there.[5] The North British Railway, therefore, gained its own route between Edinburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne via Hexham but it compared poorly with the route via Berwick, taking almost five hours to complete the journey.[5]

On 1 January 1923 ownership of the viaduct, along with the rest of the line, passed to the London and North Eastern Railway and thence to the North Eastern region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The line through Kielder lost its passenger service on 15 October 1956 and closed completely on 1 September 1958 and the viaduct's future became uncertain when the £167 million Kielder reservoir project was begun in 1976, a substantial part of the route of the old line being lost under the waters.[5] However, steps were taken by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society[5][9] to protect the viaduct itself by encasing the bases of its piers in concrete and waterproofing the bridge deck.[4][5]

The structure is now a Scheduled Monument[1][2] and forms part of a footpath from which walkers can enjoy the views from the top of its arches.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Historic England. "Kielder Viaduct (1002913)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b Historic England. "Kielder Viaduct (14588)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  3. ^ Peter McDermott. "NY6392 : Kielder Viaduct". Geograph. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Rennison, Robert W. (1996). Civil Engineering Heritage: Northern England (2nd ed.). Thomas Telford. p. 28. ISBN 0-7277-2518-1.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "North Tyne – Kielder Railway Viaduct". Bridges On The Tyne. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Obituary. John Furness Tone, 1822–1881". Institution of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Kielder Viaduct". Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  8. ^ Nicholson, Peter (1828). A Popular and Practical Treatise on Masonry and Stone-cutting (1st ed.). London: Thomas Hurst, Edward Chance & Co. pp. 39–60.
  9. ^ "The Northumberland and Newcastle Society Home page". Northumberland & Newcastle Society. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
Next crossing upstream River North Tyne Next crossing downstream
Butteryhaugh Bridge Kielder Viaduct Falstone Bridge