Railway overbridge MVL3/8, Heyrod Footbridge, Stalybridge, Tameside

Summary

Railway overbridge and flight of steps, 1845-1849, with later parapets, by AS Jee for the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway.

Description

Railway overbridge and flight of steps, 1845-1849, by AS Jee for the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway, with late-C19 and C20 parapet alterations.

MATERIALS: sandstone, cast iron, red brick, blue engineering brick.

DESCRIPTION: the bridge carries a footpath running east-west over the railway, with steps on the eastern side down to a path running south-east towards Spring Bank Lane.

The single span has a deck formed by cast-iron edge beams with a brick jack arch spanning between the bottom flanges. The abutments are battered, of squared and coursed quarry-faced stone with a weathered plinth and surmounted by an ashlar band. Projecting piers at all four inner corners are quoined, with a flush return linking them beneath the span. The piers have parapet imposts of three weathered ashlar steps, and pyramidal caps. The approach walls are of random-coursed squared stone with punched hog’s-back copings and a weathered projecting band at the base. The parapets are of blue engineering brick laid in alternate header and stretcher courses, the bottom six courses apparently older than those above. The stone parapet copings are twice-weathered. The deck is surfaced with tarmac.

On the eastern side steep steps run down to the north between the approach walls to a landing enclosed by a curving northern wall, with monumental posts at the eastern corners. The posts are circular with a weathered plinth, punch-dressed, and with a dome-topped deep circular cap to the southern post, that to the north being missing. The northern approach wall continues for two metres beyond the post alongside the footpath, stepping down to meet the ground. Mild steel handrails are fixed to the southern post and the inner faces of the approach walls.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: from the landing, four sandstone steps run down to the footpath, which is comprised of short landings of sandstone setts divided by flights of three shallow steps with setted treads and flagstone risers, all well-worn.

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.

This overbridge was built to carry the footpath between Spring Bank Lane and Wakefield Road over the railway. It was designed by AS Jee (1816-1858) and dates from the line’s construction between 1845 and 1849. The upper courses of the parapets appear to be of a different brick from the lower six courses and all are probably a later addition, probably replacing an iron parapet or balustrade. The deck has been overlaid with tarmac. Otherwise the bridge appears little-altered.

Reasons for Listing

Heyrod footbridge (MVL3/8), constructed in the mid-late 1840s by AS Jee for the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and with later parapet alterations, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* constructed during the heroic age of railway building and a relatively little-altered example (retaining cast-iron edge beams) of an 1840s overbridge on what is now one of the main railway lines in northern England;

* designed by the notable railway engineer Alfred Stanistreet Jee.

Architectural interest:

* the bridge is well-detailed with impost bands, a parapet incorporating pyramidal-capped pillars, and large circular gateposts leading to a well-constructed stepped footpath, that lift its design above the purely functional.

Group value:

* with the other listed structures designed by Jee on the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway line, in particular Heyrod Bridge (National Heritage List for England 1449241).

External Links

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.