Building record 0934903000 - Dumb Bell (Bath Road) Bridge

Grade II. An underbridge designed by I K Brunel spanning the A4, with a single skewed semi-elliptical arch, set in a tall embankment. Erected c.1838 and widened on the north (Up) side c.1875-84. Dumb Bell Bridge is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: Date and historic interest: an early (pre-1840) railway underbridge dating from the first phase of the Great Western and the ‘pioneering’ era of railway development in England, relating both to the now-vanished Maidenhead Riverside station (the GWR's first temporary western terminus) and to the London-Bath turnpike, with which the new line was in direct competition; Design, engineering and material interest: a skew-arched bridge of unusual and ingenious design, devised by Brunel himself and closely related to his slightly later Maidenhead Bridge 800m to the west; Intactness: most of the original structure survives, including the south elevation with its distinctive angled stair tower, while the later widening on the north side was carried out sympathetically. See listing entry for detailed description, history, and bibliographic sources (B5).