"This 330-metre-long steel viaduct sits in Castlefield, the oldest part of the city of Manchester. Once the site of the Roman fort of Mamucium and later a central hub for the industrial revolution, Castlefield is an area steeped in rich history...
The world’s first industrial city
Manchester’s industrial heritage began around 1758, when the Duke of Bridgewater commissioned James Brindley to construct one of Britain’s first canals to transport coal from his mines at Worsley to Manchester.
The Bridgewater canal proved a huge success, halving the price of coal and prompting a period of intensive canal-building across the country. When the Rochdale canal was complete in 1804 it was joined to the Bridgewater canal at Castlefield, making this area the hub of the canal network.
By this time Manchester was the fastest growing city in the world, thanks to the ever-increasing number of cotton mills creating jobs and bringing trade into the city. Eventually it became clear that the canals alone couldn’t move goods efficiently – leading to the dawning age of the railway.
A central hub for transporting goods
In 1830 Castlefield became the site of world’s first inter-city passenger railway station: Manchester Liverpool Road. Over the next several decades the area became the central hub for Manchester’s goods transportation network.
Warehouses sprang up all over Castlefield to support the network, and in 1855 construction began on Great Northern Warehouse. It was designed to be a three-way warehouse served by canal, road and rail, and in 1891 construction began on a viaduct which would carry the railway line to both the warehouse and the adjacent Central Station.
The Castlefield Viaduct
The viaduct itself was constructed by Heenan and Froude, the engineers who built the iconic Blackpool Tower. Upon the viaduct’s completion, a local newspaper report declared it ‘a triumph of engineering skill,’ and stated that ‘some notion may be formed of the nature and importance of [the viaduct] from the fact that the total cost has amounted to £250,000.’
For the next 77 years the viaduct was used to carry heavy rail traffic in and out of the area, until it finally closed in 1969...
Castlefield Viaduct is open as part of a pilot project, offering you the opportunity to explore the viaduct and share ideas about the future of this historic structure.
As part of your visit, you’ll discover more about the viaduct’s heritage, as well as exploring an ‘urban garden’ in the sky. Half of the deck has been planted with trees, flowers and shrubs, creating a green space for visitors to unwind in, and learn more about the city’s long relationship with plants and trees.
Creating an accessible green space in the heart of the city is a key part of the viaduct project, and one of our aims is to develop an interesting and nature-filled retreat all year round.
The selection of plants in the viaduct garden has been inspired by the existing vegetation which has claimed this industrial structure, and we’re also trying out new planting techniques, working with limited growing depths and untested growing conditions. The planting will take a little while to establish, so it may take a few seasons before the garden is fully developed."
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The viaduct was opened as an experiment to see how popular it would be. Originally only opened for a year, it has proved to be so popular that the period keeps getting expanded. In addition extra funding keeps being awarded to improved the gardens with varying types of planting.
At the moment only a small part of the viaduct is open but funding has been awarded to expand into another area in 2025.
All visits to the viaduct are free, but between 10:30am to 12:00pm Mondays to Fridays it is necessary to book online for a free guided tour, before being allowed to explore on your own. After 12:30pm and at weekends you can just turn up and explore the area.