D.H. Lawrence museum to host Bennerley Viaduct exhibition

The 1,410ft (430m) "Iron Giant" stretches between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire

An exhibition is to mark the history of a Victorian railway bridge that recently opened to the public after more than five decades of dereliction.

Bennerley Viaduct, which runs between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, was the only UK structure on the 2020 World Monuments Watch list.

An exhibition at the D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, will chart its history.

It will run from 8 June to 22 July.

The former railway bridge is now accessible to cyclists and pedestrians

The viaduct - known as the "Iron Giant" - is one of only two such structures in England.

Following repair work costing £1.7m, the 1,410ft (430m) bridge reopened to walkers and cyclists in 2022.

The exhibition - named Bennerley Viaduct, the Iron Giant of the Erewash Valley - will cover the structure's history, from its creation in 1877 during the Victorian railway boom, through to its closure in 1968, due to the Beeching railway cuts, as well as its restoration.

It will also touch on the impact the viaduct had on communities well known to D.H. Lawrence, the author of Lady Chatterley's Lover, who was born in Eastwood in 1885.

The writer was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire

Rebecca Morris-Buck, project manager for the Friends of Bennerley Viaduct, one of the groups behind the exhibition, said: "Bennerley Viaduct is a landmark in Lawrence Country.

"When you stand on the viaduct, you have a clear view of Eastwood in its landscape.

"As we develop our site as a visitor attraction, and walking and cycling destination, we're delighted to celebrate its connections to a world-famous writer and to reflect on what life in the local area was like when the viaduct was in use."

Carolyn Melbourne, museum and collections officer at the museum, said: "Bennerley Viaduct is a monument of Victorian engineering and this exhibition really brings to life the times in which Lawrence was living."