Railway viaduct MDL1/40, Churwell Viaduct

Viaduct carrying the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway, mid-1840s, by Thomas Grainger.

MATERIALS: rock-faced sandstone with ashlar dressings.

DESCRIPTION: Churwell Viaduct lies to the north-east of Churwell and carries the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway line over Elland Road, Old Road and the former site of Churwell Gas Works. The six-span viaduct, which is approximately 95m long, is similarly detailed on both sides and is constructed of coursed local rock-faced sandstone. The six segmental-arched spans incorporate chamfer-rusticated voussoirs with pitted vermiculation and tooled margins; decoration that is also replicated to the intrados (underside) of each arch. Some of the arches' voussoirs have modern tie plates. The arches spring from an ashlar impost band with moulding to the bottom edge and are supported by rectangular piers with projecting plinths and quoining sharing the same decoration as the arches' voussoirs. Above the arches is a projecting roll-moulded ashlar stringcourse and a parapet of larger coursed ashlar blocks, the upper courses of which again share the pitted vermiculation and tooled margins of the arches' voussoirs. The parapet is topped by flat ashlar copings surmounted by later metal railings. The span at the south-eastern end of the viaduct over Elland Road has the appearance more of a bridge due to the fact that Elland Road is set upon a hill and follows the gradient of the hill up to Churwell. Towards the south-east end of the viaduct on the north-west side of Elland Road is a sandstone pedestrian stair with a brick side wall leading down from Elland Road to the lower ground level underneath the main part of the viaduct.