Gazetteer of
British Place Names

The Causey Arch is a bridge near Stanley in County Durham. It is the oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge in the world. It carried an early wagonway (horse-drawn carts on wooden rails) to transport coal. It was built in 1725–26 by stonemason Ralph Wood and funded by a conglomeration of coal-owners at a cost of £12,000. Two tracks crossed the Arch: one (the 'main way') to take coal to the River Tyne, and the other (the 'bye way') for returning the empty wagons. Over 900 horse-drawn wagons crossed the arch each day using the Tanfield Railway. When the bridge was completed in 1726, its height was 80 feet and was the longest single-span bridge in the country with an arch span of 102 feet, a record it held for thirty years until 1756. Sadly, after Wood designed the bridge he was so afraid that his arch would collapse that he committed suicide by leaping from the top of the bridge in 1727. Use of the arch declined when Tanfield Colliery was destroyed by fire in 1739. The Arch has been Grade I listed since 1950 and it was restored and reinforced in the 1980s. It is within the council area of County Durham.
Historic England Grade I Listed 1240816.

Place Type: Industrial Heritage
Historic County: Durham
Lat, Long: 54.897413,-1.6883376
Grid Reference: NZ 2008 5589
Civil Parish: Stanley CP
Council Area: County Durham CA
Strategic Authority Area: North East SA
Police Area: Durham PA

GBPN ID: 300756
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Causey_Arch,_Durham_300756

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