Railway Bridge Over River Irwell To Former Liverpool Road Station

Railway bridge carrying the former Liverpool to Manchester railway over the River Irwell. Designed by George Stephenson in 1830 with slight alterations, built in cushion-rusticated sandstone ashlar.

The bridge is constructed at a slight angle across the river, with two segmental arches and a central pier with cut-water (the eastern half lies within the City of Manchester). The arches feature radiating run-out voussoirs, and pilaster strips are positioned on each side of the central pier and at the east end. A plain dressed cornice and parapet with flat coping complete the structure.

The bridge forms an integral component of the former Liverpool Road Station to the east, now The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. It is linked to the station by an 1830 viaduct and a rebuilt 1905 iron bridge over Water Street. The station, designed by George Stephenson, was the eastern terminus of the world's first passenger railway line to operate solely using steam locomotives.

The design of the bridge was largely dictated by the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company, who required a headroom of at least 29 feet with two channels of 63 feet to avoid impeding river traffic. This specification resulted in the rails being positioned well above ground level on the Manchester side, necessitating the construction of a brick viaduct to carry the line. The height of this viaduct in turn determined the height of the buildings within Liverpool Road Station. The bridge carried three pairs of railway lines and a roadway, allowing the Navigation Company's goods waggons to cross the river.

The bridge is of special architectural and historic importance due to its early date, structural intactness, and design by George Stephenson, the nationally renowned railway engineer. It has strong group value with the various structures and buildings that formed part of the station complex, including the 1830 brick viaduct, the rebuilt 1905 iron bridge over Water Street, the 1830 passenger station and warehouse, the 1855 railway goods transfer shed (now Power Hall of the museum), iron railway bridges abutting its north side, a colonnaded viaduct, and the 1880 Lower Byrom Street Warehouse. It also relates to a second bridge and viaduct immediately to its south, built by the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway Company in 1849, with the two bridges converging on the Salford side.