Culvert, Arch and Retaining Walls, in West Face of Embankment Over Causey Burn is a Grade I listed building in the County Durham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 January 1987. A 1717 Infrastructure.
Culvert, Arch and Retaining Walls, in West Face of Embankment Over Causey Burn
- WRENN ID
- lesser-eave-wagtail
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- County Durham
- Constituency
- North Durham MP: Luke Akehurst (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 21 January 1987
- Type
- Infrastructure
- Address
- Culvert, Arch and Retaining Walls, in West Face of Embankment Over Causey Burn, Causey Road, Stanley
- OS grid reference
- NZ 203 560
- Coordinates
- 54.89882, -1.68371
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The culvert, arch, and retaining walls are located in the west face of the embankment over Causey Burn and date back to 1717. They were constructed for Mr. Wortley and Colonel Liddell as part of the engineering works necessary for the Tanfield wagonway, which includes the Causey Arch at the south end of the embankment. The structure is made of coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings.
The retaining walls, which are approximately 80 meters long and 2 meters high, funnel towards a portal arch featuring voussoirs beneath a stepped retaining wall. The top course of the first step of the wall has a rough inscription reading '1717' along with initials that are likely C.T., though these are partly obscured by moss. The Causey Arch is noted as the first railway bridge in the world, making this structure significant as the first railway embankment and the first railway use of culverting. These works were described by Stukeley in 1725 and are recognized for their historical importance.
Local climate
Culvert, Arch and Retaining Walls, in West Face of Embankment Over Causey Burn receives an average of 810 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 50% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 40 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 77% of listed buildings. Of these, 24 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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