Martholme Viaduct
Martholme Viaduct
![Two of Martholme's arches cross the Calder.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image1-336.jpg)
![Rectangular stone piers take the strain.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image2-336.jpg)
![A wizened tree shelters in Martholme's shadow.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image3-336.jpg)
![Functional or embellishments? Stonework on the western abutment.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image4-333.jpg)
![Half-a-dozen arches bathe in winter sunlight.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image5-327.jpg)
![Cutwaters prevent erosion of the piers.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image6-315.jpg)
![The structure's curvature becomes clear from its deck.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image7-295.jpg)
![A product of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image8-253.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image1-336.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image2-336.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image3-336.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image4-333.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image5-327.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image6-315.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image7-295.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image8-253.jpg)
Although Parliament gave powers for an alternative route from Blackburn to Padiham in 1866, problems with Martholme Viaduct delayed the line’s opening for more than a decade. Eventually it was decided to engineer the structure from stone rather than timber.
To ensure its long-term stability, local bigwig and landowner James Lomax accepted a payment of £1,800 as compensation for not mining coal from beneath the structure.
Martholme comprises ten 40-foot arches, two of which span the River Calder. It is hoped that a footpath will eventually cross the structure but there are landowner issues at the eastern side.