Little Whessoe occupation bridge, Whessoe, Darlington

Summary

Masonry bridge for farm access over the main line of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, built in 1832 when the line was upgraded to dual track, replacing a narrower bridge built for the opening of the line in 1825.

Description

Railway overbridge by Thomas Storey for the Stockton & Darlington Railway, 1832.

MATERIALS: rock-faced ashlar sandstone.

DESCRIPTION: the bridge has a basket arch of voussoirs with a span to accommodate a dual track railway line. There is a roll-moulded string course forming an arch ring encompassing the voussoirs, the string course merging with a second more pronounced string course that marks the base of the parapet. The parapet is finished with a triangular coping, the inner face to the parapets being smoothly dressed rather than rock-faced. The plan form of the road deck is narrow waisted, the parapets flaring outwards beyond the pilasters flanking the arch.

History

Acts of Parliament passed in 1821 and 1823 granted the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) powers to compulsorily purchase the land required to build its railway, but also placed several obligations on the company. One of these obligations was the requirement to provide bridges for landowners whose land was divided by embankments or cuttings for the line. The cost of providing these occupation bridges was underestimated and placed a considerable strain on company finances before the railway opened for business in 1825. Although cuttings and embankments were engineered for dual track, to reduce costs only a single line was initially laid with bridges generally built accordingly. Two-way working of the line was facilitated with frequent passing loops. The railway proved to be a great success with traffic greatly exceeding expectations, however the passing loops caused serious operating difficulties leading to the decision in 1831 to dual the line between Stockton and Shildon. On 13 January the following year, Thomas Storey (1789-1859) then the company’s resident engineer, was instructed to prepare plans for widening four bridges (School Aycliffe Lane, Simpasture, Codling and the underbridge at Myers Flat), with instructions given on 29 April for rebuilding two further bridges (thought to be Aycliffe Wood and Little Whessoe). The 1838 Tithe Apportionment plan clearly shows the requirement for the bridge at Little Whessoe as it shows that the railway split the land holding associated with Little Whessoe farm (occupied by George Packinson) into two halves.

The bridge has a narrow waisted plan form (characteristic of early railway overbridges) and is shown in the Line Diagram surveyed by the North Eastern Railway in the early C20. This includes a sketch plan and elevation with measurements showing that the bridge has a clearance of just 21 feet 10 inches (6.7m). This very restricted clearance for a double-tracked line was generally used by the S&DR up until the later 1840s when a more generous clearance of 25 feet (7.6m) was generally used. Another indication of date is that the demolition rubble of the Codling Bridge (which was built to the same design) included two-holed sleeper stones, the S&DRs original style of sleeper stones which were replaced with larger four-holed stones when the line was dualled in 1831-1832.

The S&DR was a pioneering railway which was highly influential in the development of other railways both in England and abroad because the company actively shared information with visiting engineers and railway promotors, particularly in the late 1820s. Many early railways benefited from the lessons learned by the S&DR. The 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway was certainly influenced by the S&DR in choosing locomotive traction instead of rope or horse haulage, but also probably influenced the decision to build a dual-tracked line from the start.

Reasons for Listing

Little Whessoe occupation bridge, built for the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR), is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* a well-proportioned and detailed bridge featuring a basket arch, rock-faced ashlar stonework with string courses and pilasters, all marking a step-up in architectural sophistication from the bridges built for the opening of the S&DR in 1825;
* built 1832, this is a very early and little-altered example of a railway occupation bridge, still remaining in its original use;

Historic interest:
* built for the pioneering and internationally influential S&DR.

External Links

Historic England Listing

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