Millers Dale Viaduct, Derbyshire, UK 1860's

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby made loads of different viaducts around the world that are still in place today such as this one in the Peak District.

Millers Dale Viaduct which opened on 30th May 1863, today this is part of the Monsal Trail.

This viaduct was built by Andrew Handyside for the Midland Railway in Derbyshire's Wye Valley to help connect London and Manchester. Built between 1862 and 1863 (opening in 1863) as part of a challenging Peak District rail route. It carried trains over the River Wye and served nearby Millers Dale Station to link passengers to Buxton and transport local goods like limestone.

Each iron arch consists of five offset ribs with lattice-work struts filling the spandrels (the triangular space between the arch curve and the deck), Features three wrought iron segmental arches, each with a 95-foot span.

In 1905 because of increased traffic, The Butterley Company erected a second viaduct right next to the Handyside one. The aim was for the old viaduct to take slower trains and for the new viaduct to take faster ones.

It stood alone as a single track until a second parallel viaduct opened in 1905 to handle rising traffic. 

It shut down in July 1968 following the Beeching-era railway cuts, now a popular walking route of the Monsal Trail.

So now you know, there are two Millers Dale Viaducts next to each other, the original one by Handyside and the newer one by The Butterly Company.

Map location for this first viaduct :
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ChYbpKL8gYUbfJsE9

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Derby Castings Limited took over Andrew Handyside Limited 1931, here is the letter from them showing the takeover.

Being a Andrew Handyside researcher for 19 years I've managed to collect a vast range of unique very rare items such as this letter from 11th May 1931, This shows when Derby Castings Ltd took over the Britannia Iron Works on Duke Street from Andrew Handyside ltd.

Here is a transcript of what the letter says :

"Dear Sirs,

We have pleasure in informing you that we have acquired as a going concern the business of Messrs. Andrew Handyside & Co., Ltd., of Britannia Iron Works, Derby.

We intend to carry on and improve the existing trade in high grade Grey Iron and Malleable Iron Castings.

The new Board of Directors are instituting very considerable improvements and alterations to the works in order to give the present and new customers the best possible service.

We trust that you will continue to give the new Company your esteemed patronage, in which case we can assure you that every effort will be made to give you entire satisfaction.

Yours faithfully,

FOR DERBY CASTINGS LIMITED.
A. N. B. Stewart
DIRECTOR"

Here is a quick history of the Britannia Iron Works, Derby :

► 1818 Messrs Wetherhead and Glover established The Britannia Foundry, Duke Street, Derby.
► 1847 21st June Andrew Handyside took over The Britannia Foundry.
► 1904 Site enlarged to include new Clarke street works, alongside Duke street and Fox street works.
► 1910 28th September Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd went into voluntary liquidation.
► 1915 A new company of the same name Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd was registered which went into voluntary liquidation on 24th August 1923.
► 1924 Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd was again used to register a company, this final version of the company also went into voluntary liquidation on 13th April 1931.
► 1931 11th May Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd of Britannia Iron Works was acquired by Derby Castings Limited as you can see in this letter.
► 1933 Derby Castings ltd went into liquidation.
► 1936 February The Duke Street works were demolished, all buildings were demolished nothing survived to this day.

Derby Castings Ltd cast wall boxes and lamp boxes for Royal Mail between 1931 and 1933. The 50 Type D and 75 Type E pillar boxes (large and small oval boxes incorporating a stamp vending machine) were also cast by Derby Castings Ltd.
See my enhanced photograph below of a wall box I found made by Derby Castings Ltd in what was originally Mickleover Post office at 22 Western Road, Derby (today a Premier Store). 

You can see at the base of the post box it says "Derby Castings Limited, Derby". I have also found another local one in the wall of Willington Post Office, Derbyshire and one in Allestree on Duffield Road.

Google Streetview of the Mickleover Derby Castings wall box : https://maps.app.goo.gl/bTe3ftaxw2VfEwvR9

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Andy

Outwood Viaduct, near Radcliffe Greater Manchester made by Andrew Handyside 1881

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby made lots of bridges and viaducts around the world, here is one such example near Manchester.

A couple of months ago I made a special trip to see Outwood Viaduct, near Radcliffe Greater Manchester.

The viaduct was built in 1881 by Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby, this was a very late use of cast iron for such a purpose. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway replaced the timber decking in 1923. The railway closed in 1966 and the bridge fell into disuse.

The bridge was restored as part of a project to reclaim disused industrial land for community use and converted into a walking and cycling trail. It was re-opened on 25th June 1999 by Sir William McAlpine, the president of the Railway Heritage Trust. It is now owned by Bury Metropolitan Borough Council.

I made two trips especially to see Outwood viaduct which was a total of 252 miles there and back. A difficult one to capture as the banks of the Irwell are completely lined with well established trees and access down to the river banks is near impossible. So my second visit was with my drone which allowed me to get these great shots of it.

Best watched on a large smart TV as it's recorded in 4K with nice music.

Join my dedicated Andrew Handyside Facebook group to see all the hundreds of items around the world that I have found, so far I have mapped out 101 bridges, 44 fountains, 34 railway stations and I have loads more to research.

Hope you enjoy my video of yet another incredible bit of engineering made in Derby.

Link to my video :

High Road Leytonstone railway bridge, Leytonstone, Waltham Forest, London, UK 1893 made by Andrew Handyside

 Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby also made bridges for lots of railway stations around the world, here is one such example in London.

High Road Leytonstone railway bridge, Leytonstone, Waltham Forest, London, UK 1893

This railway bridge was made in Derby by Andrew Handyside Ltd in 1893.

The London Overground railway line that runs on this bridge today is known as the Suffragette Line, previously Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBLIN) and before that as Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway.

The Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway Act 1890 and built as joint venture between the Midland Railway and the London, Tilbury and 

Southend Railway. It officially opened on 1 July 1894 with passenger service commencing eight days later and was taken over entirely by the Midland Railway in 1912.

Until 2011 the south side of the bridge was painted with a colourful mural.

Handyside had the contract for lots of bridges on this line aside from High Road Leytonstone they also made the bridges over Skeltons Lane, Hainault Road, Lancaster Road, Samson Road, Acacia Road, Montague Road, Harrow Road, Call Hall Road, Ramsay Road, Thorpe Road, Pevensey Road, Vansittart Road and Strode Road.

Network Rail have already replaced some of those 130 year old bridges as part of an upgrade in 2013 but you can still see them on Google Streetview by setting the date back to 2012.

Network Rail announced in July 2026 that they will be replacing four more Handyside bridges on this line :

Talbot Road, Stracey Road, Strode Road and Latimer Road railway bridges will be demolished in late 2026 installation of the new spans in spring 2027.

The project is due to be completed by late summer 2027 and these new bridges are expected to last until 2150.

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Thanks

Andy

Youngstorget Fountain, Youngstorget Square, Oslo, Norway (A replica Handyside fountain made by "street castings Ltd" of Raynesway Derby in 1996)

 Youngstorget Fountain, Youngstorget Square, Oslo, Norway (A replica Handyside fountain made by "street castings Ltd" of Raynesway Derby in 1996)

Here is a perfect example of why it's important to do plenty of research. In Youngstorget Square, Oslo, Norway there is what looks like a Andrew Handyside fountain but the reality is that it’s a replica of the 1862 Stavanger Fountain in Norway which is a Handyside one.

Youngstorget did actually have a Handyside fountain gifted in 1873, it survived until World War II, German forces removed the fountain in 1942 and threw it into the sea in Oslo’s harbour.

Here is a photograph of that original Handyside fountain from the 1920's : 

It was never recovered or located. During the square’s redevelopment in the 1990s, the city decided to restore its old fountain and asked a Derby firm to help.

The replica in Youngstorget Square was made in 1996 by Street Castings, Raynesway, Derby. So it's quite interesting that it was actually also made in Derby!

This replica Handyside fountain is listed as Design Number 19 on Page 18 of the 1879 publication "An Illustrated book of Designs for Fountains and Vases, costing from £1 to £1200 manufactured by Andrew Handyside".

Here is a news article about this replica fountain published 30 years ago in the Derby Evening Telegraph on 22nd January 1996 :

Firm’s 130-year export for Oslo "FOUNTAIN OF TALENTS"

A FOUNDRY has received a £60,000 order from Norway to recreate a fountain built in Derby more than 130 years ago.

Ernest Swift (37), operations director of Street Castings, Raynesway, Derby, has just returned from a fact-finding mission after the request came from councillors in Oslo.

Distributors working for Street Scene, another branch of the company which mainly sells cast-iron street furniture, were given the request while working in the Scandinavian city.

Oslo councillors were envious of a fountain in another Norwegian town, Stavanger, and wanted to recreate it in their capital city.

They discovered the fountain in Stavanger was originally built in 1862 by A. Handyside and Co, of Chester Green.

Managing director of Street Scene, David Thorpe, said: “When the people in Oslo found out, they thought it would be an excellent idea to get their new fountain done here.

“They knew the Stavanger one had been built in Derby and thought it would be a nice idea to get it done in the same city as it was going to be a copy.”

Mr Swift flew to Stavanger with a designer to take pictures of the fountain and make initial sketches.

He added: “We want to make the Oslo fountain as near to the original as possible and it has been quite a job, but we think the finished product will be excellent.”

When the fountain is finished the Derby Company will arrange for it to be shipped over to Norway.

By the time it is installed the total bill for the Oslo council will be close to £100,000.

The order will not create any new jobs. However, Mr Thorpe said: “We have already had two more inquiries from organisations in Norway about our work.”

There are three fountains in Norway, this replica one and two genuine original Handyside ones.

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Andy

Handyside VR Pillar box : Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby also made hundreds of Pillar and post boxes around the UK, over time some of these have emerged in other countries around the world such as this one I have found in Virginia, USA !

This Handyside VR Pillarbox was installed in Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA for its grand opening back in 16th May 1975

Does anyone know where it was decommissioned from in the UK?

Anheuser Busch liked to acquire genuine British artifacts to give the park's opening hamlet a sense of historical realism.

You can find this pillarbox in the Banbury Cross section of the park, which serves as the English-themed entrance hamlet.

It sits outside the shops near the replica of the Globe theatre. There is also a British phone box there too.

This pillarbox was made after 1883 as it has the lower aperture for letters.

Brief history of the Pillar/Post/Wall box :
The pillar box was the brainchild of famous novelist Anthony Trollope, he was the surveyor's clerk in the post office in 1851, Trollope was sent over to the

Channel Islands to study ways of improving their postal service. He knew that in France there had been a scheme for roadside letter boxes, and Trollope's idea was accepted.

In 1852 and 1853 pillar boxes were erected in St Helier, Jersey and St Peter Port, Guernsey.

They proved successful and were then tried out in English towns including Gloucester and Carlisle, and in 1855 London had its first pillar boxes. Demand for pillar boxes became very heavy. At first, district surveyors were allowed considerable freedom over the design of the letter box, some were hexagonal and some octagonal. They also had some freedom of choice over contractors. This meant that the early designs were made by a number of contractors and not to standard design.

The surveyor of Derby district found that Handyside could produce the type of boxes he wanted and they undertook commissions for him in 1853. At this time Handyside also seem to have supplied the surveyor for the Eastern District, as two of Handysides 1856-style boxes were installed at Framlington in Suffolk.

The standardisation of the designs by the GPO meant less freedom for local surveyors. The Derby district surveyor tried to get the Post Office to adopt a new design by Handyside put forward in 1857. He argued that the firm would reduce their change by seven shillings a box for boxes without an elaborate crown on the top, provided they have the contract for the whole country. The post office did not like the vertical opening for letters on the design (as per the Lincoln one), nor did they want to have to depend on one contractor. The result was that Handyside did not get any further Post Office work for some time.

In 1878 a decision was taken to adopt a new standard type of cylindrical letter box. This time Andrew Handyside was able to quote the lowest price for the work and they got the contract for supplying two sizes of pillar boxes.

The surveyor of the Dery district stressed that the firm was in a position to do the job well. It had for many years been involved in contracts supplying bridges and railroads to India, Russia and other countries.

The secretary to the Post Office was also reminded that the firm had supplied some of the earliest pillar boxes in the Derby district.

From then until 1933 the firm which in 1931 became Derby Castings Ltd kept the Post Office contract.

Until 1904 they continued to make the two standard sized pillar boxes. This contract then went to McDowell Steven and Co of Glasgow, later Allied Iron founders of Falkirk by then however, they had got contracts which they held until 1933 for double aperture pillar boxes and lamp letter boxes.

The idea for the lamp letter boxes had been borrowed from the USA and Handyside produced the first prototypes by the summer of 1898. Lamp letter boxes were first used in London. It was not until 1933 that the contract for making them went to WT Allen of London and the Sherwood Foundry, Mansfield.

In 1930 at the height of the world depression Handyside actually managed to take from Messrs WT Allen the contract for wall boxes. This contract they only worked on for three years.

Wall boxes were another suggestion of Anthoney Trollope's. They were introduced because the Post Office became alarmed at the cost of providing pillar boxes for sparsely populated rural areas, they were expensive and the wall boxes were found to cost only a quarter of what pillar boxes cost.

Thanks to The Philatelic Bureau of London, Jean Young Farrugia's 'The Letter box', R.D. Woodall's 'Pillars of society', John Heath's "Handysides and G.P.O."

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Andy

Dover - Admiralty Pier, Kent, UK Searchlight emplacement shields 1906-1980s by Andrew Handyside

Dover - Admiralty Pier, Kent, UK Searchlight emplacement shields 1906-1980s

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby also made some rather unique items such as these metal searchlight emplacement shields in Dover.

Here on Admiralty Pier, Kent, Dover, UK were once some searchlight emplacement shields made by Handyside, they were installed in May 1906. 

These searchlight emplacement shields were mounted on the pier extension, the pier extension was added 1899-1900, the extension was 2000 ft long, increasing the total length of the pier to 4140 ft. These two search lights were installed alongside the new pier turret battery and were used extensively during World War one and two to illuminate the harbour approaches and search for hostile vessels.

The Handyside emplacement shields had a thin vertical slot in them creating a vertical "sheet" or curtain of light. When a searchlight beam is wide open, it projects a massive cone of light. However, if you place a narrow vertical slit over the lens like on these, it reshapes the beam into a thin, tall, vertical wall of light.

By using a vertical slot (often paired with specialized astigmatic lenses), the beam could be focused into a sharp, narrow vertical bar. Operators could sweep this bar across the horizon. It cut through the darkness to illuminate the masts or hulls of incoming boats while minimizing the blinding glare bouncing off the waves.

Instead of actively sweeping the sky and guessing where the enemy might be, crews would lock the searchlight in place, projecting this vertical "sheet" across a known enemy flight path. When an enemy aircraft or Zeppelin flew through this invisible boundary, it would instantly flash brightly against the dark sky. This acted as an optical tripwire for anti-aircraft gunners down the line.

A 1907 plan showing searchlight arcs of illumination

The lights inside these Handyside metal emplacement shields would have been Carbon arc lamps, The Royal Navy and British coastal defences widely used carbon arc searchlights during this era due to the intensely bright light produced by them.

These lamps would produce a large amount of heat, Handyside's metal emplacement shields would have got very hot during operation.

These search light emplacement shields were still in place in the late 1980's.

The ironwork inside Dover Marine Railway Station walkway on this pier was also made in Derbyshire, by The Butterley Ironworks.

My References : Dover Museum, Peter Williams, The Dover Historian.

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Thanks
Andy