Wicker Viaduct Over Sheffield And Tinsley Canal - 1848 - Sheffield, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 23.209 W 001° 27.366
30U E 602679 N 5916411
This date plaque is on the abutment of this railway viaduct as it crosses the canal.
Waymark Code: WMRYGV
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/22/2016
Views: 1
There are a large number of canals in the UK and each have their own style of labelling the bridges. Some have bridge names, some numbers, but this canal has both and the date of construction.
The Sheffield and Tinsley Canal was built in 1819 to connect the centre of Dheffield with the River Don at Tinsley, the most easterly navigable point on the river.
The Bridge
"The Wicker Arches form a 660-yard (600 m) long railway viaduct across the Don Valley in the City of Sheffield, England. They take their name from the thoroughfare The Wicker, which passes through the main arch of the viaduct and was, until the completion of the Sheffield Parkway, the main route eastwards from the city to the M1. It is a Grade II* listed structure.
The viaduct was built in 1848 to extend the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from its previous terminus at Bridgehouses. The requirements were laid down by Sir John Fowler (engineer; designer of the Forth Bridge), but because of its prominent position in the city, he employed a firm of architects, Weightman, Hadfield and Goldie, to manage the detailed design. The design was then constructed by Miller, Blackie and Shortedge, and consisted of 41 arches. The arch which crosses the Wicker provides 30 feet (9.1 m) of headroom and spans 72 feet (22 m). On either side are smaller arches around 12 feet (3.7 m) high, with heraldic decoration in the stonework above them. Many of the arches are now concealed by buildings. The structure is officially named the Sheffield Victoria Viaduct, and has in the past been called the Wicker Viaduct."
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