Summary

A viaduct for the South Devon Railway including the adjacent piers of an earlier viaduct. The earlier piers were built in 1848 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the replacement viaduct was added in 1892 by Sir James Inglis.

Description

CORNWOOD
102/11/56

MOOR CROSS

BLACHFORD VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER VIADUCT

(Formerly listed as: MOOR CROSS BLACHFORD VIADUCT)

02-FEB-84

II

A viaduct for the South Devon Railway including the adjacent piers of an earlier viaduct. The earlier piers were built in 1848 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the replacement viaduct was added in 1892 by Sir James Inglis.

MATERIALS: The Inglis viaduct is built of rock-faced granite and blue engineering bricks. The granite piers remain extant within the Brunel viaduct, which has lost its original timber deck.

PLAN: Ten round arches survive within the Inglis viaduct with the piers of the Brunel viaduct surviving to the north.

DESCRIPTION: Rock-faced granite piers support ten round arches of blue engineering bricks with granite spandrels and a brick parapet for the Inglis Viaduct. To the north are the granite piers which supported Brunel's original timber bridge.

This entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 10 October 2016.

History

The Blachford Viaduct was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the South Devon Railway. It was opened in 1848 as part of the Totnes to Laira (Plymouth) line. This line consisted of the last extension of the Great Western Railway from Bristol to Plymouth. Originally built as a broad gauge railway, the line was converted for standard use in 1892 following a merger between South Devon Railway and Great Western Railway in 1876. Due to the conversion of the line from broad to standard gauge, the original Brunel viaduct was replaced in 1893 by a Viaduct designed by Sir James Inglis, the General Manager and Consulting Engineer of the Great Western Railway.

Reasons for Listing

Blachford Viaduct and adjacent piers are designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

* Both the Inglis viaduct and the Brunel viaduct fulfil the criteria for national designation due to their architectural, engineering and historical interest.
* The Blachford Viaduct is part of a wider group of listed viaducts throughout South Devon each of which contains the standard gauge, late-C19 viaduct together with the redundant piers of a broad gauge, mid-C19 viaduct. These structures demonstrate the significant technological and engineering advancements in the railways throughout that period.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26401259

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)