Railway Bridge

The railway bridge, built in 1849 and altered in 1882 and 1969, was designed by Edward Adams (Clayton) or Thomas Johnson of Lichfield for the South Staffordshire Railway. It features large ashlar abutments with plain plinths and top friezes, topped by tall parapets with cornices. On the northern side, there are two relief armorial bearings below the frieze and one large bearing on the parapet. The lower shields display the arms of the Bishops of Lichfield: Hackett, de Clinton, Lonsdale, and Hayworth, while the upper shields feature the old Borough seal and the leopards of England, originally placed in the center of the parapet on both the north and south sides. The southern side includes four armorial bearings of local families: Anson, Forster, Dyott, and Bagot. The two spans added in 1882 consist of riveted iron plates, and the parapets have rectangular panels with concave corners. Arcades that covered the pavements were removed in 1969.