Bridge At South End Of Railway Embankment Between Avenham Park And Miller Park

The bridge at the south end of the railway embankment between Avenham Park and Miller Park was built around 1846 for the Blackburn and Preston Railway Company, with Sturges Meek as the resident engineer. It is constructed of red brick with sandstone dressings and features a single span that connects the south end of the embankment to the north end of the viaduct over the river. The bridge has a tall round-headed arch made of rusticated stone voussoirs, a brick parapet with stone coping, and terminal pilasters on the north side with rusticated quoins and a plain band. At the north end of the east side, there is a long flight of steps that leads up at right angles to a pedestrian walkway along the viaduct. This bridge, along with the railway bridge over the drive at the north end of the embankment, was a key part of the landscaping required by Preston Corporation as they began to develop Avenham Park in the mid-1840s.