Wicker Arch and adjoining viaduct and buildings

This is a substantial railway bridge and adjoining viaduct with associated buildings, constructed in 1848. The work was undertaken by John Fowler as engineer, with Weightman & Hadfield acting as architects, for the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway Company, in conjunction with the opening of the line to Manchester via the Woodhead Tunnel. The complex was altered around 1955 and restored between 1989 and 1990.

The key feature is a wide, elliptical central arch built of ashlar, with surrounding voussoirs. It is flanked by round-arched footways supported by Tuscan pilasters, decorated with imposts, keystones, and hoodmoulds. Above each footway arch is a relief panel displaying a coat of arms. A restored cornice and coped parapet tops the main structure.

To the northwest, a viaduct stretches approximately 130 metres, composed of twelve round-headed arches, also with voussoirs. It incorporates a cast-iron guard rail and stanchions. Most of the arches are infilled with two and three-storey buildings serving as workshops. The final arch on the left is partly covered by a curved flanking wall.

Attached to the southeast is a building and entrance that once served Victoria Station (this portion is excluded from the listing). The two-storey building has five window bays, featuring a plinth, cornice, and coped parapet. The left side has four blank windows with moulded surrounds and corbelled sills. Below these windows is a four-bay round-arched arcade with imposts and hoodmoulds, with radial fanlights. The right-hand opening has metal gates, while the remaining three have 20th-century shop fronts. A slightly projecting entrance bay has quoins; above it sits a window, and below, a round-arched entrance with imposts, keystone, and hoodmould containing metal gates, a wooden ticket office, and stone stairs. A similar building to the southeast has two windows and a 20th-century shop front within the arches. Further southeast is a viaduct of 27 arches, which once supported Victoria Station. These arches are wider than those on the northwest viaduct. Two arches spanning the River Don have parallel late 19th-century lattice girder spans with stone abutments. Other arches span Furnival Road, Effingham Street, Effingham Lane, and the Sheffield & Tinsley canal. Most of the remaining arches are infilled and used as stores and workshops.

The complex represents an outstanding example of early railway architecture. The railway bridge was initially listed in 1973; the adjoining viaduct and buildings are added to the list at this later date.