Dutton Viaduct

Friday’s meander around Aston in North Cheshire, on which I will report tomorrow, passed under the magnificent Dutton Viaduct, pictured above during our brew stop.

The viaduct was completed in 1836 and comprises 22 stone arches and two wrought iron girder bridges. It carries the Chester to Manchester railway line over the River Dane and the Weaver Navigation.

I would have imagined that the 1830s were an era bereft of the ‘Elf’n Safety’ that blights the 21st Century, but according to Jen Darling’s research “it was one of the most successful and safe engineering feats of its time – there were no accidents to the workforce, many of whom were Irish and lived in nearby terraced cottages, during construction”.