Martholme Viaduct | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 53°48′01″N2°22′44″W / 53.8004°N 2.3788°W /53.8004; -2.3788 |
| Crosses | River Calder, Lancashire |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Sandstone rubble |
| Height | 65 feet (20 m) |
| No. of spans | 10 |
| History | |
| Engineering design by | Sturges Meek |
| Constructed by | Thomas Stone & Son |
| Construction start | 1870 |
| Construction end | 1877 |
| Closed | 1957 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 9 March 1984 |
| Reference no. | 1362005 |
| Location | |
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Martholme Viaduct is a 19th-century railwayviaduct in the English county ofLancashire. It lies between the town ofGreat Harwood, in the district ofHyndburn, and the village ofRead, in the adjacentRibble Valley district. As the river that it crosses marks the boundary, the viaduct is thus situated in both those districts.[1]
Designed by Sturges Meek,[2] Chief Engineer of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, it was built between 1870 and 1877 to carry theGreat Harwood Loop (also known as the North Lancashire Loop) of theEast Lancashire Line over theRiver Calder. That part of the line closed in 1957.[3]
The viaduct was originally intended to be a wooden construction, but was eventually built insandstone rubble. It has ten round arches, each with a span of 40 feet (12 m), and was designed on a slight curve; it is 65 feet (20 m) high. In 1984 it was designated a Grade IIlisted structure by the organisation then known asEnglish Heritage (nowHistoric England).[3]
