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Wolverton Viaduct

1838 establishments in EnglandBridges across the River Great OuseBridges completed in 1838Bridges in BuckinghamshireBuildings and structures in Milton Keynes
Grade II listed bridges in EnglandLondon and Birmingham RailwayRailway viaducts in BuckinghamshireUse British English from February 2023Wolverton
Wolverton Viaduct over the River Great Ouse, carrying train on West Coast Main Line
Wolverton Viaduct over the River Great Ouse, carrying train on West Coast Main Line

Wolverton Viaduct is a railway bridge carrying the West Coast Main Line over the River Great Ouse to the north of Wolverton, part of Milton Keynes, in south-eastern England. Built in 1838 for the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) to the design of Robert Stephenson, it was the largest viaduct on the L&BR's route. It is in the centre of Wolverton Embankment, itself the largest on the line. It has six brick arches and covers a distance of 660 feet (200 metres), reaching a maximum height of 57 feet (17 metres) above the river, and terminating in substantial abutments which contain decorative arches. The viaduct and embankment feature in drawings by John Cooke Bourne. Several contemporary commentators likened Stephenson's bridges to Roman aqueducts. Some modern engineers and railway historians have suggested that Wolverton Viaduct is not as innovative or impressive as some that followed but nonetheless praised its visual impact. The cutting caught fire during construction and suffered from slips and settlement problems for several years. The viaduct was widened to take four tracks in the 1880s with a blue-brick extension, in contrast to the red-brick original; the new structure was not bonded to the original and the divide can be clearly seen from underneath. Masts for overhead electrification were added in the 1950s but otherwise the bridge is little changed since it was built. It has common features with several other L&BR viaducts and is now a Grade II listed building.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Wolverton Viaduct (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Wolverton Viaduct
Haversham Road, Milton Keynes New Bradwell

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Wikipedia: Wolverton ViaductContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 52.072222222222 ° E -0.81166666666667 °
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Wolverton Viaduct

Haversham Road
MK12 5EP Milton Keynes, New Bradwell
England, United Kingdom
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Wolverton Viaduct over the River Great Ouse, carrying train on West Coast Main Line
Wolverton Viaduct over the River Great Ouse, carrying train on West Coast Main Line
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Haversham
Haversham

Haversham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Haversham-cum-Little Linford, in the City of Milton Keynes unitary authority area, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated to the north of (and separated by the River Great Ouse from) the Milton Keynes urban area, near Wolverton and about 5 miles (8 km) north of Central Milton Keynes. The village name is an Old English word that means 'Haefer's homestead'. In the Domesday Book of 1086, when it belonged to the Peverell family, it was listed as Havresham. The ancient manor house in the village, which was fortified in 1304, was largely burnt down, but parts of it still remain in a farm house just outside the main village. Haversham was once a village of farm-workers' dwellings. As of 2012, only Hill Farm, Grange Farm and Crossroads Farm remain as active working farms. The village has two distinct settlements separated by farmland. The older part of the village contains the manor house. It lies at elevations between 60 metres and 65 metres above mean sea level, just above the flood plain of the Ouse. In the 1930s, 'New Haversham' was built nearer Wolverton, to house staff working at the Wolverton railway works nearby. New Haversham contains the primary school and is on ground at elevations between 65 metres and 75 metres, overlooking the Ouse Valley. In the 1970s, ARC dug the river meadows near the site of the old village of Stanton Low for gravel extraction, leaving behind the large man made lakes that surround Haversham to the south today. These lakes are the home to the Hanson Centre and to the Haversham Sailing Club, one of the sailing clubs around Milton Keynes. Just south of Haversham beside the road to Wolverton, is the Wolverton Railway Viaduct over the valley of the river Great Ouse, of a Stephenson's design, carrying the West Coast Main Line. The village gave its name to HMS Haversham, a Ham class minesweeper.