Kew Railway Bridge, photographed on 1st March 2008. photograph by Gregory Beecroft

Kew railway bridge was built in 1868 by Brassey & Ogilvie to the design of W. Galbraith. It comprises five lattice girder spans on pairs of cast iron columns and brick abutments with stone embellishment. There is nothing remarkable about the girders, but the columns are highly decorated. Each comprised a plain cylinder with decorative Tuscan columns at the quarter points and decorated capitals. However, half of the decorative columns are now missing.

Kew Railway Bridge. photograph by Gregory Beecroft

Each column is topped by an ornate, round-topped tabernacle. Although the London & South Western Railway built the railway through Kew, the main users were the Metropolitan District and North London Railways; there were no LSWR passenger services from 1916.

Detail of the ornate cast iron. photograph by Gregory Beecroft

Kew Railway Bridge. photograph by Gregory Beecroft

Kew Railway Bridge. photograph by Gregory Beecroft