c. 1800
Description
Watercolour drawing by Joseph Atkinson 'View of Tanfield Arch in the County of Durham', Newcastle, England, 1800-1802
More details about this record can be found on the collection website
Image Licence
CC BY-NC-SA
Image Credit
Courtesy of the Science Museum
Location
Causey Arch, Badgers Wood, Stanley, England
Country
England
Medium
Watercolour
Tags
Category
Landscapes & Seascapes
TWW Comment
This single arch bridge was built to transport coal from the Tanfield Coal Works over the Cawsey Burn to the River Tyne. It was built by Ralph Wood, who later committed suicide, apparently wracked with fear that his construction would collapse. His fears were unfounded: the Causey Bridge, as it's known, is the oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge in the world.