Navvy Stones

Weights
58kg / 127lbs
96kg / 211lbs

Location
View on Google Maps
View on what3words - bridge.gloom.playback

Original Challenge
Stones to Chest

Name Origin
Navvy, short for navigator, is a labourer who was employed in the excavation and construction of English railways, roads and canals still in use today.

Stone Placement
Discovered and placed by @dances_with_stones slightly off the path in front of the Ribblehead Viaduct, in homage to the Navvys and their families who undertook and supported this marvellous feat of engineering in 1869.

History

The nearby Ribblehead Viaduct was built between 1869 and 1876 as part of the Settle–Carlisle Railway. Constructed from local stone and over a million bricks, its 24 arches carry the railway across the windswept valley of Batty Moss. 

The viaduct stands as a remarkable achievement of Victorian engineering and a lasting monument to the thousands of navvies and their families that lived in temporary camps nearby whilst labouring in harsh conditions to build the great stone arches.

The stones pay tribute to the navvy's and their families and offer a glimpse into lifting and working with stone in the harsh environment in the 1800s.