History

The Chester to Holyhead line was proposed to improve links with Ireland, the bill being passed in July 1844 with Robert Stephenson as engineer and Francis Thompson of Derby as architect. This viaduct is likely to be by Stephenson with assistance from Mr Foster, the resident engineer for this stretch of the line. Opened 1 May 1848 and taken over by the London & North-Western Railway in 1859. The Afon Ogwen here forms the boundary between the Llanllechid and Llandygai communities.

Exterior

14 semi-circular arches. Rock-faced and heavily tooled red sandstone masonry with rusticated voussoirs and quoins. Brick soffits to the arches and plinths and freestone impost bands to each pier; cornice and plain parapet. The end piers slightly project and those flanking the river have ramped brick bases.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a substantial and essentially unaltered early railway structure on the important Chester to Holyhead Railway, the viaduct is both architecturally distinctive and a fine example of railway engineering.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29500117

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

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)