Braithwaite Viaduct

The Braithwaite Viaduct is a surviving 260-metre section of a structure built between 1839 and 1842 by the Eastern Counties Railway Company. Designed by the company’s architect, John Braithwaite, it was intended to carry trains into what became Liverpool Street Station. Originally approximately 2 kilometres long, the viaduct initially carried two lines of track over a series of broad elliptical vaults. The section that remains has piers supporting 20 arches. It is built of stock brick from various sources, with stone impost bands decorating the piers and rendered plinths. The viaduct showcases unusual Gothic style cross vaulting, contrasting with the Italianate style of the station. The design is more akin to earlier canal architecture than the standardised railway architecture that followed. The piers are pierced by one, two or three pointed cross vaults, allowing pedestrian traffic to pass underneath, a design intended to minimise disruption to local life. Between 1877 and 1881, Shoreditch Station was remodelled, and the viaduct was encased within extensive vaults to the north and south, which supported a large goods yard above. This remodelling reduced the viaduct’s width by about 2 metres, although the original foundations of the piers remain at their full width. The Braithwaite Viaduct is a rare example of an early railway viaduct connected to a first-generation London terminus, notable for its unique design, materials, and structural qualities. It bridges the period between canal and later railway engineering forms. The gates and forecourt walls of the associated Goodsyard are separately listed; other buildings and structures on the site are not of special interest.