Wickham Bishops timber trestle railway viaduct, Wickham Bishops - Maldon

The last surviving timber trestle railway bridge in England. It comprises two adjoining viaducts, one crossing the River Blackwater, the second the Wickham Mill leat. The structures were part of the Braintree to Maldon branch line, built to carry freight and passengers inland from the port at Maldon. The line was operational between 1848 and 1966 although it closed to passenger traffic in 1964. Although there were extensive repairs in the 1990's, many timbers are suffering from rot and decay caused by damp, lack of maintenance and heavy tree growth across, and through, much of the monument.