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Summary

Cast iron aqueduct carrying the Grand Western Canal over the line of the former Tiverton Branch of the Bristol and Exeter Railway. Brunel was engineer for the railway company at the time the aqueduct was built in 1847 and may, therefore, be responsible for its design.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS91SE/81

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• AQUEDUCT (Built, XIX - 1848 AD to 1848 AD (Between))

Full description

Soper, M, 17/05/2015, Aqueduct over the Railway, Halberton (Correspondence). SDV358186.

Observation that the aquduct is in a poor state of repair. Plans are afoot to get it listed and install a plaque near by regarding its history. A management plan for the aquaduct is being reassessed.

Hadfield, C., 1967, Canals of South West England, 112 (Monograph). SDV58.

Aqueduct carrying the Grand Western Canal over the railway. Built in 1847. A cast-iron duct supported on two cast-iron arches, the whole being enclosed in brickwork, and the intervening spaces puddled.

Devon County Council, 1992, Unlisted Buildings on the Grand Western Canal: Submission to the Department of National Heritage (Correspondence). SDV349466.

Not listed, although on draft list.

Cox, J., 1993, The History of The Grand Western Canal (Report - non-specific). SDV355364.

In 1844 Brunel's Great Westem Railway reached Exeter, and by 1848, Brunel had built the branch line to Tiverton from Tiverton Junction, having designed an aqueduct to carry the canal over his line at Halberton. This survives as a cast iron trough supported on two cast iron arches enclosed with brickwork.

Dodd, D., 2006, Historic Buildings and Structures Along the Waterways: Grand Western Canal in Devon, 6 (Report - Interim). SDV351654.

Aqueduct, brick with cast iron trough. Carries canal over railway. Built in 1848 to cross the Tiverton branch line.

Valentin, J., 2009, Tiverton Eastern Urban Expansion Area. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment and Evaluation, 4, App.1 B6 (Report - Assessment). SDV345204.

Institute of Civil Engineers, 2015, ICE (Website). SDV357973.

HEW number 0523
Designer Brunel, Isambard K.
Built 1874 to 1848
Opened 1848 June 12
Significant features: An aqueduct with an iron trough, constructed under an operational canal

Complete information available on http://www.ice.org.uk/Information-resources/Panel-for-historical-engineering-works/Details?hewID=1333

Ordnance Survey, 2015, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV357601.

Halberton Aqueduct Research Group, 2016, Halberton Aqueduct Research Group. First Status Report (Un-published). SDV359980.

Cast iron aqueduct carrying the Grand Western Canal over the line of the former Tiverton Branch of the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER). It built in 1847, during which time the canal was closed for several weeks. The aqueduct was built for two tracks but in the event the railway branch line, which opened in 1848, was always single track. The B&ER bought the canal in 1864 and closed it, with the exception of the length between Tiverton and Lowdwells which was eventually abandoned in 1964. This section was handed over the Devon County Council for restoration in 1971. The aqueduct's lining was reinforced by butyl rubber in 1976, the surfaces of the towpath were waterproofed and much of the brick facing replaced. Later the timber post and rail fence was removed and replaced by a brick parapet.

Brunel was B&ER's engineer at the time the branch line was constructed and his initials on a contract drawing of the aqueduct suggest that he took an interest in the project and may even have played a part in its design. The report notes that the aqueduct is similar in cross-section to the Thames Tunnel on which Brunel had worked with his father.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4893 - Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Assessment, Tiverton

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