Combined viaduct and aqueduct called Treffry Viaduct
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1007279
- Date first listed:
- 23-May-1977
Location
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- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled Monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1007279
- Date first listed:
- 23-May-1977
- Location Description:
- Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Luxulyan
- District:
- Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Lanlivery
- National Grid Reference:
- SX 05641 57187
Reasons for Designation
The engineering brilliance of the Treffry Viaduct cannot be overemphasised since unless the aqueduct had been calculated precisely the water could not flow. It formed an integral part of a complex network of leats, inclined planes and tram ways which interconnected quarries, mines, china clay works, Par Harbour, and it was intended to link these to Newquay Harbour on the North Cornish coast via Goss Moor. As a concept the combined aqueduct and viaduct was almost ahead of its time and it was the first to be built in Cornwall.
Details
The monument includes a combined viaduct and aqueduct which crosses the Par River in the steeply sided Luxulyan Valley. The combined viaduct and aqueduct survive as a granite-built ten-arched bridge with a span of approximately 200m which stands up to 27m above the valley floor. The aqueduct flows directly beneath the viaduct and the flow of water is controlled by sluice gates at either end. The track bed of the viaduct, which carried a horse drawn tramway, is produced by granite sleepers across the top of the aqueduct and is contained on either side by a high solid parapet. It was built by Joseph Treffry, one of Cornwall's greatest mining adventurers between 1839 and 1844 to carry a mineral railway from St Blazey and Par to Newquay and is the earliest granite construction of its kind in the region. The aqueduct conveys water via leats to nearby Ponts Mill and was used to provide water for the Fowey Consols mine powering the Carmears Inclined Plane by means of a waterwheel en route. Treffry himself was known locally as the 'king of Mid Cornwall' for his engineering and entrepreneurial achievements.
Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-431167
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- CO 1048
- Legacy System:
- RSM - OCN
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 24-Jun-2026 at 00:12:50.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.