Monsal Dale
Monsal Dale is a steep-sided valley in Derbyshire, in the White Peak limestone area of the Peak District, through which runs the River Wye. It is part of the longer, winding dale of that river through the Peak District.
The dale is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and part of a Europe-wide network called Natura 2000.
Headstone viaduct
The Headstone Viaduct' was built by the Midland Railway over the River Wye. The bridge, which stands near the 533-yard Headstone Tunnel, is 300 feet long. It had five 50-foot span arches, some 70 feet high at the centre.[1][2] Initially, some slippage occurred, and remedial work was carried out in 1907–08.[3]
Whilst considered elegant today, and protected as a Grade II listed structure,[4] when it was built in 1863 it was seen as destroying the beauty of the dale. John Ruskin, considered to be Britain's leading cultural critic, harshly criticised the building of the railway:
| “ |
There was a rocky valley between Buxton and Bakewell, once upon a time, divine as the Vale of Tempe... You Enterprised a Railroad through the valley – you blasted its rocks away, heaped thousands of tons of shale into its lovely stream. The valley is gone, and the Gods with it; and now, every fool in Buxton can be in Bakewell in half an hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton; which you think a lucrative process of exchange – you Fools everywhere. |
” |
A proposal that never came to fruition was for another viaduct for the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway to cross both the valley and the Midland Line, some three hundred feet high.[6]
Monsal Trail
The viaduct is now part of the Monsal Trail. Headstone Tunnel, at the southern end of the viaduct, was re-opened to the public in May 2011, along with nearby Cressbrook and Litton Tunnels.
See also
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Monsal Dale) |
- Location map: 53°14’41"N, 1°43’54"W
- Streetmap: SK180720
- Ingenious.org Headstone Viaduct 1893
- Monsal Head
References
- ↑ Bickerdike, Graeme (June 2009). "The story of structures on the Monsal Trail: A week in the Peak". Forgotten Relics. http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/monsal.html.
- ↑ "Monsal Dale Viaduct". http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=204.
- ↑ Radford, Brian (1988). Midland Through the Peak: A Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Routes Between Derby and Manchester. Unicorn Books. ISBN 1852410019.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1109915: Mondal Dale Viaduct (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Ruskin, John: Fors Clavigera: Letters to the Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain; Volume 1 (1871) – Letter V, page 10
- ↑ Dow, George, Great Central: volume III: Fay Sets the Pace, 1900–1922, Ian Allan, Shepperton, ISBN 978-0-7110-0263-0, page 153
| Wye Valley, Derbyshire |
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Ashwood Dale • Wye Dale • Chee Dale • Miller's Dale • Water-cum-Jolly Dale • Monsal Dale |
