Milford Tunnel

The Milford Contract for building the tunnel was let by the North Midland Railway in about October 1837 and completed by June 1840, in time for the opening of the line. The engineers for the route were George and Robert Stephenson, assisted by Frederick Swanwick. The winning contractor was David McIntosh who tendered £93,122 () Historic England has suggested that the architect Francis Thompson may have been involved with the design of the tunnel portal, which received more special aesthetic treatment because it faced land owned by the Strutt family, who were in negotiations by the railway, and it could be readily appreciated by standing on an adjacent road bridge. No contract drawings of…

The North Midland built more ornate portals at the northern ends of its tunnels, while the southern ends were relatively plain. In this case the northern portal is a Saxon-inspired arch, surrounded by seven huge concentric semi-circular rings of stone. The portal is set into a wall of rubble masonry, which has become so overgrown as to be no longer visible. The southern portal is to the standard North Midland design. Both portals are grade II listed, being part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.