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Summary

Railway viaduct and adjacent piers of an earlier viaduct. 1892 by Sir James Inglis for the South Devon Railway; the earlier viaduct was built in 1848 and designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1325418: IVYBRIDGE VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER VIADUCT

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX65NW/36
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 99197

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• RAILWAY VIADUCT (To 1893 BC (Between) and From 1893 AD (Between))

Full description

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV150980.

Des=parish checklist/harford. Vis=est=-/-/1978 (hankin, c. F. ) descriptions of the earlier and later viaducts given on the worksheet.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV150981.

Des=worksheet/parish file.

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV150983.

Osa=sx65nw28. Vis=viaduct on south devon railway originally built by brunel in 1849. Piers of broad gauge line can still be seen east of the station and close to present viaduct (os citing minchinton + harris).

Untitled Source (Migrated Record). SDV150984.

Doe/hhr:south hams(2/2/1984). Vis=railway viaduct similar to blackford viaduct qv and slade viaduct on this line.1893. Sir james inglis engineer. Rock-faced granite piers supporting eight round arches of blue engineering brick and with granite spandrels and brick parapets. The granite piers of brunel's original timber bridge of 1848 survive alongside to the north. This section from totnes to laira (plymouth) was opened in 1848 under the south devon company which was dissolved in 1878. The great western railway took over in 1876. The broad gauge was replaced in 1892 (doe).

Minchinton, W., 1973, Industrial Archaeology in Devon, 10 (Monograph). SDV362710.

Ivybridge Viaduct. Originally built by Brunel of timber on stone piers, this viaduct was rebuilt in stone in 1893.

Harris, H., 1986, Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor (Revised Edition), 175 (Monograph). SDV295019.

Ivybridge Viaduct, on the South Devon Railway from Plymouth to London, was built by Brunel circa 1849, of timber on stone piers. It was replaced by the present stone structure in 1893, but the piers which carried the broad-gauge line across the valley of the Erme can still be seen, east of the station and close to the present viaduct.

Marchand, J., 2003, Archaeology within Longtimber and Pithill Woods, 1, 2 (Report - Survey). SDV365058.

Remains of the stone piers which supported Brunel’s timber railway bridge, this was built in 1848 to carry the broad-gauge railway from Totnes to Laira in Plymouth.
The Great Western Railway took over the line in 1877 and the new viaduct was built in 1893, this was designed by Sir James Inglis. The rock faced granite piers support 8 round arches of blue engineering bricks with granite spandrels and brick parapets.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2010, Ivybridge (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV345343.

Ivybridge Viaduct, including adjacent piers of earlier viaduct, previously known as Ivybridge aqueduct.
The lvybridge Viaduct was originally designed by lsambard Kingdom Brunel for the South Devon Railway. lt was opened in 1848 as part of the Totnes to Laira (Plymouth) line. This line consisted of the last extension of the Great Western Railway from Bristol to Plymouth. Originally built as a broad gauge railway, the line was converted for standard use in 1892 following a merger between South Devon Railway and Great Western Railway in 1876. Due to the conversion of the line from broad to standard gauge, the original Brunel viaduct was replaced in 1893 by a viaduct designed by Sir James lnglis, the General Manager and Consulting Engineer of the Great Western Railway.

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

Historic England, 2015, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV358087.

Railway viaduct and adjacent piers of an earlier viaduct. 1892 by Sir James Inglis for the South Devon Railway; the earlier viaduct was built in 1848 and designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

MATERIALS: The Inglis viaduct is built of rock-faced granite and blue engineering bricks. The surviving piers of the Brunel viaduct are of granite.

PLAN: Eight round arches survive within the Inglis viaduct, with six piers to the Brunel viaduct to the north.

The Inglis viaduct comprises rock-faced granite piers which support eight round arches of blue engineering bricks with granite spandrels and a brick parapet. To the north are six granite piers which supported Brunel's original timber bridge, though it has lost its original decking.

HISTORY: The Ivybridge Viaduct was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the South Devon Railway. It was opened in 1848 as part of the Totnes to Laira (Plymouth) line. This line consisted of the last extension of the Great Western Railway from Bristol to Plymouth. Originally built as a broad gauge railway, the line was converted for standard use in 1892 following a merger between South Devon Railway and Great Western Railway in 1876.

Due to the conversion of the line from broad to standard gauge, the original Brunel viaduct was replaced in 1893 by a Viaduct designed by Sir James Inglis, the General Manager and Consulting Engineer of the Great Western Railway.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION Ivybridge Viaduct and adjacent piers are designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Both the Inglis viaduct and the Brunel viaduct fulfil the criteria for national designation due to their architectural, engineering and historical interest. * The Ivybridge Viaduct is part of a wider group of listed viaducts throughout South Devon each of which contains the standard gauge, late-C19 viaduct together with the redundant piers of a broad gauge, mid-C19 viaduct. These structures demonstrate the significant technological and engineering advancements in the railways throughout that period.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8840 - Survey of archaeological features in Longtimber and Pithill Woods

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