Railway Bridge Over Southdown Road

TL 11 SW HARPENDEN SOUTHDOWN ROAD HARPENDEN

5/78 Railway bridge over Southdown Road

II

Railway bridge. Circa 1865 by Liddell and Barlow. Extended on W side circa 1880, when the London-Midland track was made quadruple. Cambridge blue brick. The E side has stone dressings. The W side is mostly in dark red stock brick. Semicircular tunnel arch crossing the road at a steep angle, giving the arch the appearance of a parabola. The elevations have 1 and 2 broad plain piers, left and right of the arch. Deep parapet. The E side has a stone roll moulding round the arch and T-shaped stone modillions in the stepped brick band below the parapet. On the E side the blue and stock bricks are indiscriminately mixed and the piers of the parapet have brick modillions. The tunnel arch comprises 18 square sections set diagonally and overlapping each other in a criss-cross, stepped formation. The 9 sections on the E side have smooth stone imposts. Continuous plain plinth, capped in stone on the E half. On the NE and SW embankments are sloping abutments in blue brick. Each has deep rectangular buttresses linked by deep arched recesses which terminate as niches. Long sloping elevations finished by short brick piers.

Listing NGR: TL1410013442