Vanished Wales: Remembering Crumlin's Iron Giant
It was a wonder of the industrial age. An astonishing feat of Victorian engineering.
As recently as the 1960s, the town of Crumlin in Caerphilly County was dominated by one of the most remarkable structures in Wales: the Crumlin Viaduct.
Opened in 1857, it was a technological marvel, spanning deep valleys and steep hills. Trains criss-crossed the top of the bridge. It connected communities and was the tallest viaduct in Britain.
Vera Jenkins, who lives in Crumlin, recalls how the megastructure loomed large over daily life: “Everybody took it for granted. It was part of our infrastructure. Some people thought it was a magnificent piece of engineering, which it was. It was big, it was dirty, it was fabulous!”
The size and scale of the Viaduct even got the attention of Hollywood. In 1966 the Oscar winning director Stanley Donen used the bridge for an action sequence in his spy movie, Arabesque.
The film starred Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren, and their appearance on the streets of Crumlin was the talk of the town.
Resident Keith Lloyd remembers it well: “Everybody was out cheering. We couldn’t believe it, seeing these two famous stars. They were the most down to earth people that you’d ever meet and they’d chat away to you like you were their next of kin.”
Despite standing proud for more than a century, all that remains of the Crumlin Viaduct today are its stone supports.
The bridge had been built for the railways. But in the 1960s, the ‘Beeching Axe’ led to the mass closure of stations and rail services up and down the country. Trains stopped crossing the Viaduct and the ongoing cost of maintaining the bridge threw its future into doubt.
Despite an impassioned campaign to save it, the Viaduct was completely demolished in 1967.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...
55 years on, the ruins of the Viaduct have become an important link to the past. It’s where local school children learn about their town’s history and its lost heritage.
On one field trip, a pupil from Crumlin High Level Primary School shared her thoughts on the much missed landmark: “Everyone would have come to see the Viaduct if it was still up. And if it was still up, everyone would have loved it.”
You can see more on this story, and many other lost landmarks, in Vanished Wales. Friday 10th June at 7pm on ITV Cymru Wales. You can also catch up with the series here: https://itv.com/walesprogrammes