Braithwaite Viaduct
BRAITHWAITE VIADUCT
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1063895
- Date first listed:
- 08-Mar-2002
- List Entry Name:
- Braithwaite Viaduct
- Statutory Address:
- BRAITHWAITE VIADUCT
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1063895
- Date first listed:
- 08-Mar-2002
- List Entry Name:
- Braithwaite Viaduct
- Statutory Address 1:
- BRAITHWAITE VIADUCT
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- BRAITHWAITE VIADUCT
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Tower Hamlets (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 33747 82201
Details
TQ33748220 BRAITHWAITE VIADUCT
II
The surviving 260 metres of a viaduct built by the Eastern Counties Railway Company between 1839 and 1842 to a plan by John Braithwaite, the company architect. It was designed to carry trains into the terminus of Shoreditch Station (later called Bishopsgate Station, then superseded in 1875 by Liverpool Street Station). It was originally about 2 kilometres long and carried two lines of track on a series of broad elliptical vaults. The surviving section contains piers supporting 20 arches. It is built of stock brick from various sources, and the piers are decorated by stone impost bands and rendered plinths. The Gothic style of cross vaulting was an unusual choice, set against the Italianate style of the station building. The structure of the Viaduct is reminiscent of earlier canal architecture than it is of the more standardised railway architecture that was to follow. The piers are pierced by one, two or three pointed cross vaults which allowed pedestrian traffic to travel below the viaduct. This was intended to minimise the disruption to movement in the area and thus, lessen the impact of the railway line on local life. Shoreditch Station was remodelled between 1877 and 1881, and that new development encased the Viaduct between extensive vaults to north and south, the whole supporting a vast goodsyard on the upper deck. The surviving section of the Viaduct was reduced by approximately 2 metres before the bonding of the new vaults to its current width of 14 metres, although the foundations of the original piers survive to their full width.
The Braithwaite Viaduct is a very early and rare example of a railway viaduct associated with a first generation London Terminus. Its unusual and individual design and use of materials set it apart both structurally and visually from the more standards forms of railway architecture. It is associated with an important phase of railway development and bridges the period between distinct canal and later distinct railway engineering forms.
The gates and forecourt walls of the Goodsyard are already listed. None of the other buildings or structures on the site (including structures adjoining the Viaduct) are of special interest.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 488529
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 01-Jul-2026 at 11:01:43.
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.