Victorian Viaduct Arch, Castlefield Manchester

1 October 2019 · Manchester

A red brick railway viaduct fills the frame in Castlefield, its arch forming a portal onto the wrought-iron swing bridge beyond. Two layers of Victorian engineering sit one inside the other — the solid mass of weathered brick giving way to the lighter lattice of cast iron, the canal basin and warehouse block visible through the gap. Two figures stand at the water's edge, small enough against all that masonry to measure just how much structure surrounds them. Autumn overcast light holds the colours flat and even, letting the texture of the brick do the work.