Former Railway Bridge By Dilke Memorial Hospital

The former railway bridge by Dilke Memorial Hospital was built around 1870. It is constructed from sandstone that is rock-faced, squared, and coursed, with drafted edges on the piers and main quoins. The coping is tooled with drafted edges and has a weathered upper surface. The skew arch features a red brick soffit laid in stretcher bond, with an arch span of approximately 4.25 meters, rising to about 4.5 meters at the crown of the flat elliptical arch, which includes a keystone. The railway arch measures about 9.10 meters long and is angled at approximately 23 degrees to the center line of Speech House Road (B4226).

Twin piers on each side support weathered rectangular copings, which are flanked by segmental ramped wings that end in similar piers. The parapet is about 1.4 meters deep from the top of the surface to the string course just above the arch, and the road is approximately 7.4 meters wide between the parapets. The bridge was built by the Severn and Wye Railway to carry the road over the Mineral Loop, which opened in 1872, although the railway track has since been removed. This bridge is a notable example of a mid-Victorian railway bridge, showcasing strong geometrical forms and serving as a visual representation of a brick skew arch. It is an important remnant of an area that was once rich in industrial and colliery activities, with numerous railway lines. The bridge is partly located in Ruspidge Parish, with the boundary running along the center of the road.