ITV1’s ‘All Around Britain’ Featured Some of Our Work on the £2.1m Restoration of Ribblehead Viaduct

Did you see us feature on ITV1’s ‘All Around Britain’ television programme on Sunday?

Our Archaeology and Heritage Team have assisted Network Rail in securing both scheduled monument consent and listed building consent for a scheme of repairs to the Grade II* listed Ribblehead Viaduct. The structure which spans the Batty Moss within the Yorkshire Dales National Park was designed by the Midland Railway Company Engineer J. S Crosley and is a fantastic example of Victorian railway engineering constructed as part of the Settle to Carlisle Railway between 1870 and 1875. The scale of the structure, its architecture and its landscape setting make it one of the most iconic railway structures in the country.

The programme of repairs seeks to ensure the iconic structure is appropriately conserved and remains fit for purpose and are necessary to address minor defects to the masonry and the drainage system.

Within a project management capacity, we have assisted and advised Network Rail through the LBC process by coordinating and managing the analysis of the existing mortar within the structure to help Network Rail overcome concerns raised by consultee’s. The results of the mortar analysis identified to the project team the likely composition of the original mortar used within the construction. This was then used alongside best conservation practice and colour match analysis to develop a mortar specification for use in the in the repairs that is appropriate to the structure in terms of compatibility with the historic materials, its exposed location and the performance requirements.

In addition, we have also assisted Network Rail in discharging conditions attached to the SMC through the preparation of a Written Scheme of Investigation, through coordinating and commissioning necessary recording works on behalf for Network Rail including aerial photography capture by UAV drone and a LiDAR Survey, the first to be undertaken of the structure, and by undertaking necessary archaeological monitoring of site works.

Watch the episode of ITV1’s ‘All Around Britain’ (Series 1, Episode 14) here – the project features from 2 minutes 45 seconds in.