Derwent Viaduct (SPC8 42)

The Derwent Viaduct is a five-span skew arched structure built between 1836 and 1840 for the North Midland Railway, designed by George and Robert Stephenson along with Frederick Swanwick.

Constructed from coursed quarry-faced Derbyshire gritstone with ashlar dressings and red brick soffits laid in English bond, the viaduct features riveted steel girders. It spans the Derby Road (A6) and the River Derwent, comprising one span over land, two spans over the river, and two spans over the A6. The east elevation showcases v-channelled stepped voussoirs that return as quoins on the soffits, with slightly projecting dropped keystones. The arches spring from chamfered impost bands of picked stone with dressed margins, which continue around the inside faces and include integrated diagonally set springers. The soffits are made of skew-set red brick, while the spandrels, piers, and buttresses are faced with coursed quarry-faced stone laid in diminishing courses. The piers feature a band dressed similarly to the impost bands, and the pointed cutwaters are capped by rounded ashlar prows. The viaduct is topped with a boldly projecting moulded cornice and a low ashlar parapet, which is surmounted by 20th-century steel railings. At the north end, this parapet extends along a wing wall that steps out with quoins and follows the line of the railway.

The west face mirrors the east, with alterations made in 1930-31 to accommodate a new track diverging at the north end. This involved adding a steel plate girder across the two northernmost arches, which required the extension of two piers and the abutment for support. These extensions are also faced with coursed quarry-faced gritstone and are skewed.