The River Frome, Eastville – early 1900s, 1968 and 2014 These three views are of the River Frome at a point where the river passed under the Thirteen Arches Viaduct at Eastville. Loxton’s drawing, looking downstream, shows a rural scene with the river banks covered in greenery and trees. A footbridge crosses the river just upstream of the viaduct. The famous 200 yard long railway viaduct was constructed in 1874 to carry the track of the Clifton Extension Railway from the Midland Railway main line at Clay Hill to join the GWR line at Narroways Hill Junction. Made redundant by the closure of the line, in 1968 the viaduct was demolished with explosives. The second photo shows that this demolition was not entirely successful, the span over the Frome remaining intact. The more resistant parts of the viaduct had to be demolished by hand. The second photo was taken looking upstream, so Loxton’s footbridge is on the far side of the viaduct - the tree covered heights of Purdown can be seen in the background. The main reason for the demolition of the viaduct was to clear the area for the building of the M32. The third photo of the Frome was taken from the point where it flows, out of sight, between the car park of Tesco’s Eastgate store and the Eastville slip road of the M32. The motorway makes it impossible to get in exactly the same position as the 1968 photo, so a view from the slip road will have to do. Not only has the viaduct disappeared but the River Frome seems to have been buried by shrubs and trees.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 07:29:42 +0000
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