History
The Midland Main Line is the outcome of a number of historic construction phases undertaken by different
railway companies. The first two phases were carried out simultaneously between 1836 and 1840 by the
North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway. The North Midland Railway, which operated
between Derby and Chesterfield and onwards to Rotherham and Leeds, was pre-eminently the work of
George (1781-1848) and Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) who, along with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, are the
most renowned engineers of this pioneering phase of railway development. They worked closely with the
Assistant Engineer, Frederick Swanwick (1810-1885). The railway’s architect Francis Thompson (1808-1895)
designed stations and other railway buildings along the line. The less demanding route for the Midland
Counties Railway, which ran between Derby and Nottingham to Leicester and on to Rugby, was surveyed by
Charles Blacker Vignoles (1793-1875) who was engineer to a large number of railway projects. These two
companies (along with the Birmingham & Derby Junction Railway) did not yield the expected profits, partly
because of the fierce competition between them. This led to the three companies merging into the Midland
Railway in 1844 which constituted the first large scale railway amalgamation. The next part of the line from
Leicester to Bedford and on to Hitchin was constructed between 1853 and 1857 by the engineer Charles
Liddell (c.1813-1894) and specialist railway architect Charles Henry Driver (1832-1900). In 1862 the decision
was made to extend the line from Bedford to London which was again the responsibility of Liddell, except for
the final fourteen miles into London and the design of the terminus at St Pancras (Grade I) which was
undertaken by William Barlow (1812-1902). Additional routes were then added from Chesterfield to Sheffield
in 1870, and from Kettering to Corby in 1879. The most important changes to the infrastructure of the
Midland Railway were the rebuilding of its principal stations and the increasing of the line’s capacity, involving
the quadrupling of some stretches of the route south of the Trent from the early 1870s to the 1890s.
The Kirk Hill Bridge was built between 1836 and 1840 as part of the Midland Counties Railway. The line
connecting Derby and Nottingham to Leicester and Rugby originated in a proposal to supply Leicester with
coal from the Nottinghamshire coalfield but it was extended to Rugby in order to become a major component
in the strategy to link London to the North. The routes were surveyed by Charles Vignoles in 1835 and an Act
of Parliament for the construction of the line was obtained in 1836. The sixty mile line was opened in three
stages between 1839 and 1840. Built largely across the Trent, Derwent and Soar valleys, the engineering of
this line was in most respects less demanding than the North Midland. At Derby the company shared a
station provided by the North Midland but built its own principal stations at Nottingham and Leicester together
with an increasing number of intermediate stations.
The Kirk Hill Bridge was built for the Midland Counties Railway under the northern subdivision of Contract
No.5, dated 25 June 1838, and completed in time for the opening of the line from Leicester to the Trent on 5
May 1840. A contract drawing survives, signed by the contractor William Mackenzie of Leyland, Lancashire,
illustrating a single-span structure of 30ft and a height above the rails of 16ft. A second span, also of 16ft,
was added on the east side when the line was widened through Normanton on Soar c.1873-74, under the
direction of the Midland Railway engineer John S. Crossley. A drawing for this widening also survives. The
bridge parapets have been heightened on the east side, and small areas of defective brickwork have been
replaced in engineering brick. In every other respect, the bridge has been little-altered since 1870.
Details
Kirk Hill Bridge is a double-arch, brick overbridge spanning a cutting. The west span dates to the construction
of the Midland Counties Railway under engineer Charles Blacker Vignoles, c.1838-40. The east span dates to
the widening of the line by the Midland Railway under the direction of engineer John S. Crossley, c.1872-74.
English Heritage Advice Report 23 January 2014
Page 6 of 7
MATERIALS: both phases of the bridge are built of red brick, laid to English bond, with tooled, ashlar
sandstone. Repairs have been carried out in blue and red engineering brick.
DESCRIPTION: the two phases of construction are marked by arches of different shape and proportions. The
west span arch is semi elliptical, with replacement blue engineering brick to both abutments on the west
elevation and the east side of the arch ring. The later, east span is a shallow segmental arch, the arch ring
comprised of four courses of red header bricks. The arch rises from an ashlar impost band with a chamfered
upper arris.
Above the arches there is a pick-faced sandstone band course with moulded upper and lower arrises. The
arches are flanked by projecting piers, raked from the band course downwards. The central pier of the bridge
was originally the abutment pier of the c.1838-40 single-span structure. The flanking walls are slightly curved,
and terminate at projecting piers. The bridge parapet walls have deep, tooled ashlar copings with a slight fall
to the outside face. The east end terminal pier to the north elevation has been refaced in C20 engineering
brick. Area of defective brickwork in the abutments and arch soffits have been replaced in blue engineering
brick.