Sowe Viaduct

Sowe Viaduct is a railway viaduct designed by Robert Stephenson, built in 1838 for the London and Birmingham Railway. It is made of brick with stone dressings on the arches, stringcourses, and cornice, and is oriented roughly east to west.

The viaduct spans the River Sowe and features a large central arch flanked by three smaller arches on each side. The arches are constructed with large ashlar voussoirs that have pointed ends. Within the piers that support the side arches, there are smaller pointed arches with blind panels. Both the voussoirs and stringcourses display carved vermiculation. The underside of the central arch is coated with sprayed concrete.

Giant pilasters flank the central arch, featuring stone springing points that extend across the base of the pilasters. The upper levels are adorned with dentilled cornices made of ashlar, topped by a brick blocking course and stone cappings. The cornice runs along the entire length of the viaduct, although it lacks dentils in some sections. Additional pilasters are present at each end of the structure, and there is considerable replacement engineering brick throughout the viaduct.