North Ventilation Shaft, Kilsby Tunnel

NORTH VENTILATION SHAFT, KILSBY TUNNEL, LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Explore this list entry

Overview

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II*
List Entry Number:
1076406
Date first listed:
11-Mar-1987
List Entry Name:
North Ventilation Shaft, Kilsby Tunnel
Statutory Address:
NORTH VENTILATION SHAFT, KILSBY TUNNEL, LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY
User submitted image
Contributed by T Fiz This photo may not represent the current condition of the site. Over 400,000 images and stories have been added to the Missing Pieces Project so far. Share your story.
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places. 

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

Icon Buildings
Icon Scheduled monuments
Icon Parks and gardens
Icon Battlefields
Icon Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Images of England Project

To view this image please use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge.
Archive image, may not represent current condition of site.
Date:
2000-10-04
Reference:
IOE01/02902/29
Rights:
© Dr John Airlie Hunter. Source: Historic England Archive

Local Heritage Hub

Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.

Discover more

Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II*
List Entry Number:
1076406
Date first listed:
11-Mar-1987
List Entry Name:
North Ventilation Shaft, Kilsby Tunnel
Statutory Address 1:
NORTH VENTILATION SHAFT, KILSBY TUNNEL, LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
NORTH VENTILATION SHAFT, KILSBY TUNNEL, LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
West Northamptonshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Kilsby
National Grid Reference:
SP 56942 70876

Details

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 05/09/2012


SP5670
15/173


KILSBY
LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY
North ventilation shaft,
Kilsby Tunnel


II*


Ventilation shaft. c.1838. Engineer Robert Stephenson. Random blue and red brick
with stone dressings. Circular with square recesses around the base,
machicolated stone frieze and castellated parapet. The London to Birmingham
railway was built in 1833-58 under the supervision of Robert Stephenson. The
Kilsby tunnel was opened 1838 and is approx. 2,194 metres long. The ventilation
shafts were built from the top downwards, small portions of the wall being
excavated at a tine. The base of the shafts inside the tunnel are shown in
lithographs by J.C. Bourne c.1838, in The Science Museum, London.
(J.C. Jeaffreson, Life of Robert Stephenson, 1864, Vol.I, p. 201; D. Beckett,
Stephenson Britain 1984, p.99),


Listing NGR: SP5694270876

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
361066
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Beckett, D, Stephensons Britain, (1984), 99
Jeaffreson, J C, Life of Robert Stephenson, (1864), 201

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of North Ventilation Shaft, Kilsby Tunnel

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 13:27:52.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

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.

Previous Overview
Next Comments and Photos