Ropers Bridge

Heritage listing

Details 1870/0/10013 WHISTON DRAGON LANE ROPERS BRIDGE 02-NOV-07 II Road bridge spanning the former Liverpool & Manchester Railway Line. c.1829, by George Stephenson, engineer. Coursed squared blocks of red sandstone with decorative tooling finishes and ashlar dressings. DESCRIPTION: Single span arched masonry bridge, spanning the former Liverpool & Manchester Railway Line, and aligned south west to north east at an angle to the rail track. It supports a dual lane carriageway and a pedestrian footpath to the west side and to the approaches to the east side only. Low parapet walls of large sandstone blocks with banded rustication to the external faces, two short sections of the west parapet wall with replacement copings. The main body of the bridge formed of large stone blocks with vermiculated rustication, the segmental arch with deep voussoirs and projecting keystone flanked by full-height pilaster strips. The spandrel walls are strengthened with C20 tie bars. Above the arch, a projecting band course supports the bridge parapet. Large rusticated coursed masonry block walling continues for a short distance beyond the pilaster strips beneath a band course and is then replaced by approach walling of plainer character with some replaced copings, and a continuation of the band course. Wide abutments support walls to the south side of the bridge. HISTORY: The Liverpool & Manchester Railway Line was completed in 1829 and officially opened on the 15th September 1830. It is widely regarded as the earliest locomotive passenger line in the world (the earlier Stockton-Darlington line of 1821 having been primarily used for transporting goods rather than people). In 1826 George Stephenson was appointed as the line's engineer and designed not only the railway line and associated tunn

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.