Victoria Railway Bridge is a Grade II* listed building in the Sunderland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 15 July 1985. A Industrial Railway bridge. 3 related planning applications.

Victoria Railway Bridge

WRENN ID
vast-gargoyle-azure
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Sunderland
Constituency
Washington and Gateshead South MP: Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
15 July 1985
Type
Railway bridge
Period
Industrial
Address
Victoria Railway Bridge, NE38 8LQ
OS grid reference
NZ 320 545
Coordinates
54.8846, -1.50252
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Victoria Railway Bridge, built in 1838 by James Walker of Walker and Burges, is a railway bridge made of rusticated sandstone. It features four main arches, with the southernmost arch spanning the River Wear, and three minor arches at each end. The main spans measure 100 feet, 160 feet, 144 feet, and 100 feet, with a height from the foundations to the top of the parapet of 156 feet 6 inches. The arches are constructed with voussoirs and bands, and there are impost blocks on the minor arches. Three semi-circular buttresses extend into refuges in the parapet, and there is massive coping on the plinths of the cutwaters. Historically, the bridge was built for the Durham Junction Railway and was completed on the day of Queen Victoria's coronation, June 28th. It served as part of the main London-Newcastle line until 1868 and connects the valley sides at their crest. The design was inspired by Trajan's bridge at Alcantara, though it is not a direct copy.

Local climate

Victoria Railway Bridge receives an average of 740 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 73% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 96% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 64% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 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.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • Sale history — 1 transaction since 1997
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • 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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