South Portal of Shildon Railway Tunnel is a Grade II listed building in the County Durham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 February 1986. Railway tunnel portal.

South Portal of Shildon Railway Tunnel

WRENN ID
fallen-corner-sedge
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
County Durham
Constituency
Bishop Auckland MP: Dr Sam Rushworth (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
24 February 1986
Type
Railway tunnel portal
Address
South Portal of Shildon Railway Tunnel, Burney Gardens
OS grid reference
NZ 232 262
Coordinates
54.63124, -1.64192
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The south portal of Shildon Railway Tunnel was built in 1842 for the Shildon Tunnel Company, a subsidiary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. It is constructed from dressed and ashlar sandstone and is designed in a Neo-Romanesque style. The portal features a large, semicircular roll-moulded arch with a rusticated, inward-splayed intrados, set within a battered, rock-faced portal. Above, there is a corbelled parapet and a short blocking course.

Originally known as the Prince of Wales Tunnel, Shildon Tunnel was created to bypass the Black Boy Incline and to serve the Wear Valley. The north portal is located within the Bishop Auckland District.

Local climate

South Portal of Shildon Railway Tunnel receives an average of 800 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 53% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 88% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 42 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% 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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