Drury Dam Viaduct
Drury Dam Viaduct
Named after Mansfield floor mill owner Daniel Drury, the imposing Drury Dam Viaduct was constructed mostly from local limestone and carried a spur of the Midland Railway’s Southwell-Mansfield line over the Maun Valley between Mansfield’s East and South junctions. The line was first trafficked on 3rd April 1871 but the section over the viaduct was closed in October 1872, only to reopen again on 28th January 1906.
Curving slightly to the north at its eastern end, the structure comprises nine segmental brick arches – each of six rings – with its piers, spandrels, parapets and abutments in rock-faced stone. Ashlar is used for the string course, skewbacks and copings.
Across Quarry Lane at its western end is a single cast-iron skew span involving four rib arches with pierced spandrels and a panelled iron parapet. Pilaster buttresses are provided on both sides.
Grade II-listed since October 1975, the viaduct continued to carry coal traffic from Rufford Colliery until 12th December 1983. It was restored in 1989 and now forms part of the town’s network of footpaths, although trees obscure most views of it..
March 2012