Blachford Viaduct Including Adjacent Piers of Earlier Viaduct
BLACHFORD VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER 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:
- 1107455
- Date first listed:
- 02-Feb-1984
- List Entry Name:
- Blachford Viaduct Including Adjacent Piers of Earlier Viaduct
- Statutory Address:
- BLACHFORD VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER VIADUCT
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Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-06-05
- Reference:
- IOE01/04416/15
- Rights:
- © Mr Brian Richards. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1107455
- Date first listed:
- 02-Feb-1984
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 26-Mar-2009
- List Entry Name:
- Blachford Viaduct Including Adjacent Piers of Earlier Viaduct
- Statutory Address 1:
- BLACHFORD VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER 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:
- BLACHFORD VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER VIADUCT
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Devon
- District:
- South Hams (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Cornwood
- National Park:
- Dartmoor
- National Grid Reference:
- SX6080758284
Summary
A viaduct for the South Devon Railway including the adjacent piers of an earlier viaduct. The earlier piers were built in 1848 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the replacement viaduct was added in 1892 by Sir James Inglis.
Reasons for Designation
Blachford Viaduct and adjacent piers are designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Both the Inglis viaduct and the Brunel viaduct fulfil the criteria for national designation due to their architectural, engineering and historical interest.
* The Blachford Viaduct is part of a wider group of listed viaducts throughout South Devon each of which contains the standard gauge, late-C19 viaduct together with the redundant piers of a broad gauge, mid-C19 viaduct. These structures demonstrate the significant technological and engineering advancements in the railways throughout that period.
History
The Blachford Viaduct was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the South Devon Railway. It was opened in 1848 as part of the Totnes to Laira (Plymouth) line. This line consisted of the last extension of the Great Western Railway from Bristol to Plymouth. Originally built as a broad gauge railway, the line was converted for standard use in 1892 following a merger between South Devon Railway and Great Western Railway in 1876. Due to the conversion of the line from broad to standard gauge, the original Brunel viaduct was replaced in 1893 by a Viaduct designed by Sir James Inglis, the General Manager and Consulting Engineer of the Great Western Railway.
Details
CORNWOOD
102/11/56
MOOR CROSS
BLACHFORD VIADUCT INCLUDING ADJACENT PIERS OF EARLIER VIADUCT
(Formerly listed as: MOOR CROSS BLACHFORD VIADUCT)
02-FEB-84
II
A viaduct for the South Devon Railway including the adjacent piers of an earlier viaduct. The earlier piers were built in 1848 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the replacement viaduct was added in 1892 by Sir James Inglis.
MATERIALS: The Inglis viaduct is built of rock-faced granite and blue engineering bricks. The granite piers remain extant within the Brunel viaduct, which has lost its original timber deck.
PLAN: Ten round arches survive within the Inglis viaduct with the piers of the Brunel viaduct surviving to the north.
DESCRIPTION: Rock-faced granite piers support ten round arches of blue engineering bricks with granite spandrels and a brick parapet for the Inglis Viaduct. To the north are the granite piers which supported Brunel's original timber bridge.
This entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 10 October 2016.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 99164
- 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 15-Jun-2026 at 21:23:51.
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.