Over six million bricks used in the construction of the viaduct were made from clay excavated from the nearby village of
Bures. It was built to carry a double-track railway but only a single track was laid. The bridge was built by
Peter Bruff between 1847 and 1849 for the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury & Halstead Railway, later part of the
Great Eastern Railway. The railway initially planned to build the viaduct with laminated timber but Bruff opted for brick to reduce the cost. He debated the cost benefits of brick compared to timber with the
Great Western Railway's chief engineer
Isambard Kingdom Brunel after a lecture at the
Institution of Civil Engineers in 1850, Brunel being strongly in favour of using timber. Bruff went on to commission a painting of the viaduct by
Frederick Brett Russell, which is now held by
Ipswich Museum. A foundation stone in pier 21 was laid by the railway company's chairman and deputy chairman at the start of works in September 1847 and newly minted coins were placed inside as a souvenir. The stone and coins disappeared within a few hours of being placed and a bricklayer was later arrested, having tried to pay at a bar with a new
half sovereign, but was not convicted of the theft due to lack of evidence. ==Listing==