Wicker Arches: A Railway Viaduct in Sheffield
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
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- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Modern
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- British
- Site type
- Infrastructure
- Remains
- Bridge
On this page8 sections
History
Wicker Arches is a railway viaduct in Sheffield, United Kingdom, built in 1848 to carry the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from Bridgehouses to Sheffield Victoria station.
Construction and railway development
Sir John Fowler set the engineering requirements, while architects Weightman, Hadfield and Goldie prepared the detailed design. Miller, Blackie and Shortridge carried out the construction. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway adopted the name Great Central Railway in 1897, and the viaduct became part of its network.
The viaduct takes its name from Wicker, the thoroughfare passing beneath its main arch. Before Sheffield Parkway was completed, Wicker served as Sheffield’s main eastward route toward the M1.
Wartime damage and railway decline
During the Second World War, an unexploded bomb struck the central arch, which remained standing. Passenger services on the Woodhead Line between Sheffield and Manchester ended in January 1970, when Sheffield Victoria and its Manchester service closed.
Local trains to Huddersfield via Penistone continued until the route was diverted through Barnsley in the 1980s. Sheffield Victoria’s station buildings and platforms were demolished in 1989. After the diversion, football excursion trains ran to Wadsley Bridge for matches at Hillsborough, home ground of Sheffield Wednesday, a Sheffield football club. These trains ended in 1996.
Restoration and later changes
The viaduct was restored in 1990. It is Grade II* listed, the middle of England’s three listed-building grades, used for buildings of particular importance.
Construction of Five Weirs Walk brought a pedestrian bridge beneath the viaduct in 2002. Work on the final phase of Sheffield’s Inner Ring Road altered the structure at Brunswick Road in spring 2006. The viaduct was added to the Buildings at Risk Register in 2007. Freight trains continued to use its single line to Stocksbridge Steelworks through 2023.
Remains
The brick viaduct extends about 600 m across the Don Valley and crosses the River Don. It was originally built with 41 arches, many of which are now concealed by later buildings.
Viaduct and pedestrian crossing
Railway viaduct
The main arch spans Wicker, with a span of about 22 m and a clearance of 9.1 m. The smaller arches on either side are about 3.7 m high, and heraldic symbols decorate the stonework above them.
At the western end, two arches and the crossing over Brunswick Road were replaced by a single steel span. Repairs to the central arch remain visible on its left-hand side.
Cobweb Bridge
Cobweb Bridge, a pedestrian bridge forming part of Five Weirs Walk, is suspended beneath the viaduct.
