Railway Bridge

This is a railway accommodation bridge, built between 1854 and 1855 as part of the Cornwall Railway. Constructed of granite ashlar in a simple Gothic style, the bridge carries the railway line over Cypress Avenue. It features a wide four-centred arch and both the north and south faces have plain parapets topped with tapered coping stones. To either side of the arch are hexagonal turrets above projecting piers, each with a tapered plinth and a string course, linked by machicolation-style decorative elements above the arch. The abutment returns are ramped in four steps with dressed granite copings.

The bridge was constructed by Sharpe and Sons to a design from I.K. Brunel’s office in London, and it stands on the Tregrehan Estate, built as an accommodation bridge for the Carlyon family. Colonel Edward Carlyon, a major shareholder in the Cornwall Railway, chose to have the ornamental bridge constructed at a cost of only slightly over £50 more than an ordinary bridge, with additional funds provided towards the improvement of the adjacent road. The Cornwall Railway remained an independent company until 1889, when it was absorbed into the Great Western Railway. The bridge remains part of the London to Penzance mainline, located between the stations of Par and St Austell.

The bridge is designated at Grade II for its architecture as a good example of an ornamental accommodation bridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and for its historic significance, supported by detailed documentation relating to its construction. Its Gothic detailing reflects the nearby Tregrehan Estate, which was being improved at the time of the bridge's construction.