Bridges On The Tees

CROFT RAILWAY BRIDGE


"Down the years (the road bridge) has also been the setting for an interesting and unusual ceremony involving the Prince Bishops of Durham. The last Prince Bishop was Van Mildert and he took part in the ceremony on the centre of the bridge during 1826. This same ceremony took place in 1860 when Henry Montague Villiers was welcomed as Bishop of Durham, He travelled to the diocese by rail and the train stopped in the middle of the railway bridge over the Tees at Croft so that he could be presented with the (Conyers) falchion [a ceremonial sword] by a representative of the Lord of Sockburn."

The River Tees. A North Country River. R. Woodhouse. 1991

The bridge carries the East Coast Main Line over the Tees near Croft and Hurworth and was built for the Great North of England Railway in 1840. It stands high above the river and the piers are built at an oblique angle, that is to say they are skewed to allow the river to flow past them with less resistance than if they were square to the railway. This meant that the line of the railway need not deviate to cross the river at right angles. The bridge is much used by frequent passenger and freight trains on the East Coast Main Line between London, Newcastle and Edinburgh. It can be reached by a footpath from the west end of Hurworth village in County Durham. Hurworth is a fair-sized village with many attractive old buildings and a village green.

 Croft Railway Bridge Facts


Constructed - 1840
Type - stone, skew arch, 4 spans.
Position: Hurworth-on-Tees, County Durham.
Grid Ref: NZ 291 092
 Croft Railway Bridge



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