Railway underbridge MVN2/194, Hurst Lane

The railway underbridge on Hurst Lane was built between 1836 and 1839, with widening work completed in 1884 and between 1888 and 1892. It was designed by George Stephenson and Thomas Gooch for the Manchester and Leeds Railway.

Constructed from gritstone, this underbridge features a single-span, segmental arch. The arch is made of quarry-faced voussoirs, which are hidden behind modern warning signs, and has tooled margins that rest on slightly projecting ashlar impost bands. The arch serves as a subway, with its underside formed from stone blocks, including some red brick patching. The arch shows evidence of multiple phases of construction, with several straight joints and numerous mason marks. It is oriented roughly from north-east to south-west, with a slight deflection to the south about two-thirds of the way along its length.

The spandrels and abutments on both the north and south sides are made of quarry-faced coursed yellow gritstone and are supported by canted buttresses. The north elevation features symmetrical curved wing walls on either side, topped with canted ashlar coping stones, and ends in low square masonry piers with dressed pyramidal cap stones. The south elevation has a similar curved wing wall on the east side, which retains its three-bar iron railings with flat cast-iron posts. To the west, the abutment is obscured by the embankment and retaining wall of the former Mirfield goods station. The plinths of the parapet walls rest on ashlar cordons, and the walls, which end in rectangular piers, are capped with ashlar coping stones. The pier capstones are in two pieces, with a slightly convex upper surface, except for the one to the south-west, which is flat and made from a single stone.