About London Road Viaduct, Brighton

The London & Brighton Railway's proposed route from Brighton to Newhaven had to negotiate the fields of a steep north-south valley. John Rastrick's solution was a sharply curving viaduct.

This fine structure now carries the Lewes branch of the railway from Brighton. It rides across the streets of the north centre of the town with 26 arches of 9 m (30 ft) span and one over the London road of 21 m (67 ft). It stands 20 m (67 ft) above the streets.

To maintain a constant arch span, the piers are tapered in elevation, being 2.1m (6.9 ft) thick at the base and 1.5m (4.9 ft) thick at the top. The piers have deep vertical voids in the centre, some 3m (9.8 ft) wide. The tracks are carried on five two-ring brick 1.2m (3.9 ft) span semi-circular longitudinal jack arches. The cornices and parapets are in Caen stone and there are refuges over each pier. It took some ten million bricks to build. Astonishingly, it was completed and operational within ten months in 1846.

On 25 May 1943, a 450kg bomb dropped by a German Focke Wolfe fighter plane exploded against Pier 7. Arches 7 and 8 were destroyed and the track was left hanging in mid air. A temporary steel structure enabled trains to cross the viaduct within a few days. The permanent repairs - a new pier and arches - were constructed in heavy duty blue engineering bricks, and can be clearly seen. The line was reopened on 12th October 1943.

What was once open agricultural land is now dense housing and this fine structure dominates parts of Brighton. It is listed Grade II.