Railway underbridge MDL1/35, Howley Mill Lane, Morley, Leeds

Summary

Railway underbridge for the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway line. Mid-1840s, by Thomas Grainger. Sandstone.

Description

Railway underbridge for the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway line, mid-1840s, by Thomas Grainger.

MATERIALS: quarry-faced sandstone and ashlar.

DESCRIPTION: the bridge accommodates a right of way and a small stream beneath the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway line. It is constructed of squared and coursed quarry-faced sandstone with the coping of the face and wing walls of squared ashlar. Both faces of the bridge are similarly detailed. The segmental arch is of stepped, rusticated v-jointed sandstone voussoirs springing from a low impost band of squared edges with chamfered top and bottom edges. There is a concave-moulded ashlar cornice, and on the east side this carries a triangular parapet formed of large, stone slabs set on edge. The curved and raked wing walls also have squared ashlar coping stones. A low stone wall with semi-circular coping stones runs the length of the bridge and projects beyond on both sides, separating the higher-level lane from the stream.

History

In contrast to the main trunk lines of the late 1830s that were constructed by single railway companies the route from Stalybridge to Leeds had fragmented origins and was the work of three different railway companies: the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway, Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway, and the Manchester & Leeds Railway.

The Huddersfield & Manchester Railway was authorised in 1845 and followed the route of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal for much of its length, including a railway tunnel through the Pennine hills set alongside the earlier Standedge Canal Company tunnel of 1811; in 1846 the railway company also acquired the canal. Joseph Locke and Alfred Stanistreet Jee were appointed to survey and design the new line, the two engineers having already worked together on a major project linking Manchester and Sheffield. Jee became the lead engineer for the Huddersfield line, which passed through challenging terrain, assisted by resident engineers that included his brother Moreland Jee (until 1848) and Herbert F Mackworth. Construction of the line was divided into various contracts, with many contractors being only responsible for a single cutting, viaduct or tunnel portal. The largest contract for the Standedge Tunnel between Diggle and Marsden was let to a single contractor, Thomas Nicholson in 1847. The tunnel's completion in 1849 marked the opening of the line.

The Leeds end of the route, which was also authorised in 1845, was constructed by the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway. The engineer was Thomas Grainger who had previously largely worked in Scotland, and the line was completed in 1849.

A short three-mile section of the route between Heaton Lodge Junction and Thornhill Junction near Mirfield was developed by the Manchester & Leeds Railway and was constructed between 1837 and 1840, with George Stephenson as the chief engineer. The structures on this line were designed by Thomas Gooch under the oversight of Stephenson. In 1847 the railway company changed its name to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway.

In 1847 the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway and the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway were acquired by the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) so that the company could access the city of Leeds and the textile towns of West Yorkshire. This pitted them as rivals to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, although at points on the route the two companies had to work together. By 1851 the London & North Western Railway had an overall mileage of railway track of 800 miles and it became the most prominent railway company in the country and the largest joint-stock concern in the world in the late C19. Although the LNWR had a general manager, Captain Mark Huish, the lines of the Stalybridge to Leeds route still managed their own affairs. LNWR later carried out expansion works, including the widening of tracks and bridges, the construction of additional tunnels, and station alterations. In 1923 the line became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway, and subsequently part of the nationalised British Railways in 1948. The line, its structures and track are currently (2018) owned by Network Rail, and the passenger services operated by TransPennine Express and Northern Rail.

Howley Mill Lane underbridge was designed by Thomas Grainger and dates to the construction of the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway between 1845 and 1847. It is depicted and annotated 'Bridge' on the first edition 1:10,560 OS map surveyed between 1847 and 1851 and published in 1854. The bridge was constructed to accommodate a right of way and a small stream, which are separated by a dry-stone wall. The stream formerly flowed into a large reservoir on the east side of the bridge associated with a woollen mill.

Reasons for Listing

Howley Mill Lane Bridge (MDL1/35), constructed in the mid-1840s by Thomas Grainger for the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* an original and little-altered 1840s underbridge constructed during the heroic age of railway building on what is now one of the main railway lines in northern England;

* designed by the notable Scottish railway engineer Thomas Grainger, who worked extensively in England and Scotland.

Architectural interest:

* its design clearly displays an attention to architectural detail and craftsmanship, which can be seen for example in the use of features such as ashlar bands and stepped and rusticated voussoirs;

* unusually, the bridge was designed to facilitate a pre-existing lane and a stream, separated from each other by a stone wall.

Group value:

* With the other listed structures designed by Grainger on the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway line.

External Links

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