Buy from ebayLambley Viaduct- The History, Decline and Restoration of a Great Monument
Robert Forsythe and Charles Blackett-Ord
By Robert Forsythe and Charles Blackett-Ord, this book charts the story of downfall to restoration in two distinct sections by these two talented writers.SECTION 1: Robert Forsythe
Part One: History
The 13 mile long line from Haltwhistle to Alston operated in a remote part of the South Tyne Valley. Elsewhere in Britain comparable valleys were often left untouched by the railway age. The Clun Valley in the Anglo-Welsh Marches, Swaledale nearer home in North Yorkshire, these never saw a train penetrate their inner recesses. Alston straddling the 1000 foot contour and with its claim to be England's highest market town was destined to be different.
Two principal reasons explain this. The first was the existence of the Tyne-Solway gap. This has defined cross-Pennine communications throughout recorded history. To the Romans, to the Border Reiver, to the Jacobite campaigner, this narrow 70 mile neck across the island of Britain had been critical. On either side is impenetrable hill country and threading its way eastwards for much of the way is the Tyne Valley. Only at Haltwhistle itself does the Tyne change direction and head due south into the heart of the Pennine massif, past Alston, and to its source on Cross Fell. West of Haltwhistle, it is possible to cross the watershed of Britain: the route goes up the Tipalt Burn, past Greenhead, over a marsh just under the 500 foot contour, and from Gilsland the tumbling valley of the Irthing can be followed for a relatively precipitous and short descent to Carlisle. In the more settled times of the late 1700s, the economic rather than military attractions of the Gap beckoned. The Wade military road built after 1745 had provided the first effective transport link through the Gap since the Romans left. Canal promoters came along with their proposals which never did more than link Carlisle and Port Carlisle.
It was left to a railway company to bring the modern age to the area. The relatively easy route up the Tyne Valley, with its clear strategic and economic benefits, brought this about early in the railway age. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Company (N&CR) received an Act of Parliament in 1829. The first section opened to passengers in 1835 and the two cities were finally linked in 1839.
The company remained an independent entity until 1862 when it joined the North Eastern Railway fold, so later becoming part of the London and North Eastern Railway and then the British Railways North Eastern Region. By 1862, Alston had been on the railway map for ten years. If the Tyne Gap and its appeal to railway promoters had brought the railway age at an early date to within striking distance of Alston, what had proved the incentive to bring the rails on from Haltwhistle, through a section of the South Tyne Valley much more intimidating than that facing the engineers east of Haltwhistle?
The answer to this, the second explanation of why a railway penetrated to Alston, can be given in a word: lead. Nowadays Alston and its surrounds are palpably sparsely populated. The alert eye will spot both long empty dwellings and the evidence of mining and quarrying. Just before the railway came to Alston, the area of Alston Parish was home to around 6,800 people. Their livelihood came from the mineral resources of the area. Lead had been extracted in the area since Roman times. What is called the Alston Moor mining field had become one of the leading orefields in the British Isles.
It was not just lead that was the attraction. Silver and other metaliferrous ores were present. Surrounding the metal veins was limestone in abundance. This was not only a building stone but, as the industrial revolution gained pace, it had become a key constituent in smelting iron.
SECTION 2: Charles Blackett-Ord
I n 1991 British Rail Property Board, (BRPB), the agency responsible for non-operational railway property, was anxious to divest itself of disused railway structures. Listed viaducts were seen by the BRPB as a particular problem because they generally had no alternative use or economic value, yet because they were listed and given statutory protection they had to be maintained. Understandably the BRPB were not prepared to carry out repairs beyond the absolute minimum that was required to meet their legal obligations. However, if a new owner could be found who was prepared to take on full responsibility in perpetuity a programme of repairs could be instigated so that the structure could be handed over in a sound condition.
A nation-wide programme to care for such structures was initiated by the BRPB and the glossy brochure to accompany this had as its cover a picture of Lambley Viaduct. An article appeared in the Sunday Times dated January 28, 1992 headlined "For sale at only £1 each: 50 Victorian viaducts"
Part One: History
The 13 mile long line from Haltwhistle to Alston operated in a remote part of the South Tyne Valley. Elsewhere in Britain comparable valleys were often left untouched by the railway age. The Clun Valley in the Anglo-Welsh Marches, Swaledale nearer home in North Yorkshire, these never saw a train penetrate their inner recesses. Alston straddling the 1000 foot contour and with its claim to be England's highest market town was destined to be different.
Two principal reasons explain this. The first was the existence of the Tyne-Solway gap. This has defined cross-Pennine communications throughout recorded history. To the Romans, to the Border Reiver, to the Jacobite campaigner, this narrow 70 mile neck across the island of Britain had been critical. On either side is impenetrable hill country and threading its way eastwards for much of the way is the Tyne Valley. Only at Haltwhistle itself does the Tyne change direction and head due south into the heart of the Pennine massif, past Alston, and to its source on Cross Fell. West of Haltwhistle, it is possible to cross the watershed of Britain: the route goes up the Tipalt Burn, past Greenhead, over a marsh just under the 500 foot contour, and from Gilsland the tumbling valley of the Irthing can be followed for a relatively precipitous and short descent to Carlisle. In the more settled times of the late 1700s, the economic rather than military attractions of the Gap beckoned. The Wade military road built after 1745 had provided the first effective transport link through the Gap since the Romans left. Canal promoters came along with their proposals which never did more than link Carlisle and Port Carlisle.
It was left to a railway company to bring the modern age to the area. The relatively easy route up the Tyne Valley, with its clear strategic and economic benefits, brought this about early in the railway age. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Company (N&CR) received an Act of Parliament in 1829. The first section opened to passengers in 1835 and the two cities were finally linked in 1839.
The company remained an independent entity until 1862 when it joined the North Eastern Railway fold, so later becoming part of the London and North Eastern Railway and then the British Railways North Eastern Region. By 1862, Alston had been on the railway map for ten years. If the Tyne Gap and its appeal to railway promoters had brought the railway age at an early date to within striking distance of Alston, what had proved the incentive to bring the rails on from Haltwhistle, through a section of the South Tyne Valley much more intimidating than that facing the engineers east of Haltwhistle?
The answer to this, the second explanation of why a railway penetrated to Alston, can be given in a word: lead. Nowadays Alston and its surrounds are palpably sparsely populated. The alert eye will spot both long empty dwellings and the evidence of mining and quarrying. Just before the railway came to Alston, the area of Alston Parish was home to around 6,800 people. Their livelihood came from the mineral resources of the area. Lead had been extracted in the area since Roman times. What is called the Alston Moor mining field had become one of the leading orefields in the British Isles.
It was not just lead that was the attraction. Silver and other metaliferrous ores were present. Surrounding the metal veins was limestone in abundance. This was not only a building stone but, as the industrial revolution gained pace, it had become a key constituent in smelting iron.
SECTION 2: Charles Blackett-Ord
I n 1991 British Rail Property Board, (BRPB), the agency responsible for non-operational railway property, was anxious to divest itself of disused railway structures. Listed viaducts were seen by the BRPB as a particular problem because they generally had no alternative use or economic value, yet because they were listed and given statutory protection they had to be maintained. Understandably the BRPB were not prepared to carry out repairs beyond the absolute minimum that was required to meet their legal obligations. However, if a new owner could be found who was prepared to take on full responsibility in perpetuity a programme of repairs could be instigated so that the structure could be handed over in a sound condition.
A nation-wide programme to care for such structures was initiated by the BRPB and the glossy brochure to accompany this had as its cover a picture of Lambley Viaduct. An article appeared in the Sunday Times dated January 28, 1992 headlined "For sale at only £1 each: 50 Victorian viaducts"