Avoncliff
| Avoncliff | |
| Wiltshire | |
|---|---|
 Canal Aqueduct | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 51°20’18"N, 2°16’56"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Bradford-on-Avon |
| Postcode: | BA15 |
| Dialling code: | 01225 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Wiltshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Chippenham |
Avoncliff is a village in west Wiltshire, about a mile and a half south-west of Bradford-on-Avon.
It is the point at which the Kennet and Avon Canal crosses the river and railway line via the Avoncliff Aqueduct, which was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, between 1797 and 1801. The aqueduct consists of three arches and is 110 yards long with a central elliptical arch of 60 ft span with two side arches each semicircular and 34 ft across, all with V-jointed arch stones. The spandrel and wing walls are built in alternate courses of ashlar masonry, and rock-faced blocks.[1] The central span sagged soon after it was built and has been repaired many times.[2]
There is a picturesque weir on the River Avon where permission for a micro hydro-electric scheme was applied for from the Environment Agency in 2009. This is a popular starting point for walks along both the canal and the river, and also to Barton Farm Country Park at Bradford-on-Avon. Avoncliff is covered by two Parish Councils; Winsley[3] on the north side of the river and Westwood[4] on the south side.
The Cross Guns Inn was built in the late 17th century and is a Grade-II listed building.[5]
Rail link
Avoncliff has a tiny railway station, boasting just a one-carriage-length platform in each direction, which used to be called Avoncliff Halt since it was a request stop, requiring people on the platform to wave down the trains. It has become, as of 2011, a regular stop. Services are hourly and generally continue on to Westbury and Weymouth in a southerly direction, or Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester in a northerly direction.[6]
References
- ↑ "Avoncliff Aqueduct". Avoncliff. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20070210052636/http://www.avoncliff.co.uk/history/aqueduct.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-10.
- ↑ Allsop, Niall (1987). The Kennet & Avon Canal. Bath: Millstream Book. ISBN 0-948975-15-6.
- ↑ Winsley Parish Council
- ↑ Westwood Parish Council
- ↑ "The Cross Guns Inn". Images of England. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026090403/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=314672. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ↑ National Rail Enquiries - Station Facilities for Avoncliff
- Avoncliff - the Secret History of an Industrial Hamlet in War and Peace, McCamley, Ex-Libris Press 2004
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Avoncliff) |