Castlefield Viaduct: From vacant transport infrastructure to a park in the sky

In 2021, Purcell produced a statement of significance on Castlefield Viaduct, a monumental piece of transport infrastructure, to help guide and inform the package of works undertaken by the National Trust.

Today, the structure offers a spectacular new attraction for the region with a series of partner plots of planting and an event hub, where visitors and the local community can share ideas about the future of the building. This contrast of nature and industry, along with the opportunity to walk the route of the railway line and enjoy views of the city skyline never seen by the public, has proved hugely popular with Mancunians and tourists alike.

Many elements of the Viaduct’s significance are clear, such as the engineering dominance and scale: our research revealed other important stories, adding richness to our understanding of the site.

The Viaduct holds an important place in a wider network of transport infrastructure around Castlefield dating back over 2000 years, from Roman roads and pioneering canals to the world’s first inter-city railway line and warehouse. The significance of the transport networks around Castlefield, to which the Viaduct contributes, is unparalleled. The use of carbon steel for the Viaduct in 1892, puts the engineers, Heenan and Froude, at the forefront of technology. They also produced the steelwork for the Blackpool Tower consecutively with the Viaduct, meaning girders for both may have sat side by side in the Manchester Newton Heath Ironworks.

Using this historic background, our statement of significance helped guide proposals and inform the capacity for change of the Grade II-listed structure, for both the current works and the potential for further intervention. There continues to be considerable public interest in the Viaduct: from the beginning of our involvement in the project, we wanted to capture this enthusiasm through our work, in the form of communal value and in considering what the public envisions for the future of this iconic Manchester structure. 

This further informed the presentation of our report for wider public interest meaning it had to be innovative, clear, and accessible. Our in-house graphics team produced a smart document available to download on computers or smart devices with high-quality graphics, images, and markups.  

Visiting today, it’s easy to gain an impression of the grandeur, affluence, and power the Cheshire Lines Committee were keen to promote: the Gothic structure strides confidently across Castlefield Basin, with railway columns sitting within the earlier canal navigation, which the railways would help make largely redundant. Robust structures of the Victorian age, such as Manchester Town Hall and Manchester Central vie for prominence alongside 21st century skyscrapers. The rhythmic sound of trains and trams thundering past serve to remind visitors of the original purpose of the Viaduct, which has now been given a second life as an urban park.  

Neighbouring viaducts have continued their rail functions or found new uses as part of the Manchester Metrolink, but finding a use for rail structures where their original function is no longer required is challenging. Following in the footsteps of the Promenade Plantée in Paris and the New York High Line, Manchester's Castlefield Viaduct offers an exciting prospect for the many disused transport structures around the U.K. through thoughtful, significance-led, and community engagement initiatives offering protection and conservation of heritage assets and the greening of our inner cities.