Thickley Wood railway footbridge

This railway footbridge, built in 1857 by John Harris for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, was extended between 1868 and 1869. The bridge is constructed of cast iron, wrought iron, hammer-dressed sandstone with rock-facing to the quoin stones, and brick.

The bridge consists of four spans; a long approach-embankment to the south was built in 2018, along with a replacement steel span. The northern three spans are from the 19th century. The northernmost span, dating to 1857, is a 16.5-metre cast iron beam bridge constructed with single castings for the sides, linked by transverse brick jack arching that supports the bridge deck. The castings bear maker’s plates reading ‘HARRIS * MDCCCLVII * MAKER’. This span retains its original cast iron balustraded parapet, which has been raised with the addition of an extra handrail. The northern bridge abutment is of masonry with curving wing-walls, and the parapet terminates with brick-built piers topped with stone pyramidal caps. A change in stonework marks the raising of the abutment from its original height, and two metal brackets carrying ceramic insulators are fixed to this stonework, relating to the electrification of the line installed between 1914 and 1916.

The southern end of the 1857 bridge is supported by a short masonry span, mainly stone-built with a single semi-circular brick arch formed with four rings of brick headers, and brick used for the raised parapets. A dressed stone band indicates the original base of the parapet. The raising of the iron spans’ level to either side is marked by the addition of courses of more smoothly dressed stonework.

The third span from the north, dating to 1868-1869, is a 10.9-metre wrought iron beam bridge constructed of two I-beam girders linked by wrought iron ties and a timber deck, with its southern end supported on a masonry pier. Welded steel parapets to this span were added in 2018. Note that the embankment and southern steel span, while visually part of the structure, are considered not to be of special architectural or historic interest under planning legislation.