Many conveniences we enjoy today can trace their roots to technologies developed during the Industrial Revolution. This period of rapid industrialisation began in Great Britain, where many innovations were pioneered such as new construction materials, manufacturing methods, and lifestyle improvements.
Much of the world’s oldest industrial heritage is located in the UK and so we have curated a list highlighting some of it. We aim to grow this list over time. Is there something we should include in this list? Get in touch and let us know.
The world’s oldest engines
Title | Name | Engineer | Date | Location | County | Notes |
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Replica of world’s first practical steam engine | Atmospheric Engine | Thomas Newcomen | 1986 | Black Country Living Museum, Dudley | West Midlands | The only full size replica of the first steam engine with practical application used in 1712 to pump water at the Coneygree Colliery 1 km away. |
World’s oldest surviving modified steam engine | Newcomen Memorial Engine | Thomas Newcomen | c.1725 | Dartmouth Visitor Centre | Devon | The engine was modified retaining original parts from 1725. Used to pump water at multiple collieries and the Coventry Canal. |
World’s oldest working engine | Smethwick Engine | James Watt (Boulton & Watt) | 1779 | Thinktank, Birmingham | West Midlands | Used to pump water at the Smethwick summit on the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line. Still bought into steam at the Thinktank Museum. Also the world’s oldest working steam engine. |
World’s oldest surviving steam locomotive | Puffing Billy | William Hedley | c.1814 | Science Museum | London | Built for coal haulage at Wylam Colliery, Northumberland with a maximum speed of 5 mph. Rebuilt with different wheel configurations during its operational life. Was an important influence on George Stephenson and the development of steam locomotives. |
The world’s oldest railway heritage
Title | Name | Engineer/Designer | Date | Location | County | Notes |
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World’s oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge | Causey Arch | Ralph Wood | 1725 | Causey | County Durham | Carried the horse-drawn wooden Tanfield Waggonway across the Causey Burn. |
World’s oldest continually working railway | Middleton Railway | Charles Brandling | 1758-Present | Leeds | West Yorkshire | Originally constructed as a horse-drawn wooden waggonway. Converted into standard gauge for steam locomotives. Continues to operate as a heritage railway. Was also the first railway line to be authorised by an Act of Parliament. |
World’s oldest surviving railway tunnel | Fritchley Tunnel | Benjamin Outram | 1793 | Fritchley | Derbyshire | Carried the horse-drawn Butterley Gangroad (plateway) under a road junction. Once delivered limestone from local quarries to the Cromford Canal. Southern part of the tunnel altered in 1840s to accommodate steam locomotives. Tunnel is currently buried. |
World’s oldest surviving iron railway bridge | Pont-y-Cafnau | Watkin George | 1793 | Merthyr Tydfil | Merthyr Tydfil County Borough | Carried the Gurnos Tramroad (plateway) over the River Taff delivering limestone into the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. |
World’s oldest surviving railway viaduct | Laigh Milton Viaduct | William Jessop & Thomas Hollis | 1812 | Kilmarnock | East Ayrshire | Carried the horse-drawn Kilmarnock & Troon Plateway across the River Irvine. |
World’s oldest surviving iron railway bridge to carry a steam locomotive | Gaunless Bridge | George Stephenson | 1823 | Locomotion, Shildon | County Durham | Carried a branch of the Stockton & Darlington Railway serving Witton Park Colliery. Also the world’s first bridge to use an iron truss. |
World’s first railway to run a steam locomotive | Merthyr Tramroad | George Overton (Railway) Richard Trevithick (Locomotive) | 1802-1888 | Merthyr Tydfil | Merthyr Tydfil County Borough | Originally constructed to deliver finished iron from and raw materials to the Penydarren and Plymouth ironworks. The first experiment with a steam locomotive occurred on the line in 1804 as part of a bet to carry ten tons of iron nearly 10 miles. |
World’s oldest working railway bridge | Skerne Bridge | George Stephenson | 1825 | Darlington | County Durham | Built to carry the Stockton & Darlington Railway over the River Skerne, now part of the Tees Valley Line. |
World’s oldest working railway viaduct | Bassaleg Viaduct | George Overton | 1826 | Newport | Gwent | Built to carry the horse-drawn Rumney Railway over the River Ebbw. Now carries a standard gauge freight railway. |
World’s oldest surviving railway station | Liverpool Road | George Stephenson | 1830 | Manchester | Greater Manchester | Original terminus of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, the first inter-city railway in the world. |
World’s oldest continually working railway station site | Perry Barr | George Stephenson & Joseph Locke | 1837 | Birmingham | West Midlands | Originally built for the Grand Junction Railway. The station has been rebuilt several times during its existence. |
World’s oldest working underground railway station | Baker Street | John Fowler | 1863 | City of Westminster | London | One of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway, the ancestor of the London Underground. |
World’s oldest working electric railway | Volk’s Electric Railway | Magnus Volk | 1883 | Brighton | East Sussex | Built and still operated as a seafront tourist attraction. |
World’s oldest working electric tram line with original rolling stock | Manx Electric Railway | Frederick Saunderson | 1893 | Isle of Man | Runs 17 miles between Douglas and Ramsey via Laxey. Cars 1 and 2 are original and still operate. |
The world’s oldest waterway aqueducts
Title | Name | Engineer | Date | Location | County | Notes |
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World’s oldest surviving iron aqueduct | Pont-y-Cafnau | Watkin George | 1793 | Merthyr Tydfil | Merthyr Tydfil County Borough | Carried the Cyfartha Leat over the River Taff via dual aqueducts into the Cyfarthfa Ironworks to power a great waterwheel. |
World’s oldest surviving navigable iron aqueduct | Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct | Thomas Telford | 1796 | Longdon-on-Tern | Shropshire | Carried the Shrewsbury Canal over the River Tern. |
World’s oldest working navigable iron aqueduct | Stalybridge Aqueduct | Benjamin Outram | 1800 | Newport | Gwent | Carries the Huddersfield Narrow Canal over the River Tame. Also known as the Stakes Aqueduct. |
World’s first and only swing aqueduct | Barton Swing Aqueduct | Edward Leader Williams | 1894 | Barton upon Irwell | Greater Manchester | Carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal. Replaced the Barton Aqueduct, the first navigable aqueduct in England. |
The world’s oldest road bridges
Title | Name | Engineer | Date | Location | County | Notes |
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World’s first iron road bridge and oldest working iron bridge | Iron Bridge | Thomas Farnolls Pritchar | 1779 | Ironbridge | Shropshire | Former toll bridge carrying a road over the River Severn. Cast at Coalbrookdale Ironworks. Currently restricted to carrying pedestrians. International symbol of the Industrial Revolution. |
World’s oldest iron road bridge still carrying vehicles | Cound Arbour Bridge | Thomas Telford (Unconfirmed) | 1797 | Cound | Shropshire | Cast at Coalbrookdale Ironworks. |
World’s oldest working chain suspension bridge | Union Chain Bridge | Captain Samuel Brown | 1820 | Horncliffe & Fishwick | Northumberland & Scottish Borders | Former wrought iron toll bridge carrying a road over the River Tweed on English & Scottish border. |
World’s first suspension road bridge | Menai Suspension Bridge | Thomas Telford | 1826 | Newport | Gwynedd & Isle of Anglesey | Carries the A5 London to Holyhead road over the Menai Straits. The bridge is the first of its kind because construction started before the Union Chain Bridge. |
The world’s oldest utility heritage
The world’s oldest maritime heritage
Title | Name | Engineer | Date | Location | County | Notes |
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World’s second oldest lighthouse structure | Dover Pharos | Unknown | c.46 | Dover | Kent | Built by Romans to guide their fleets from France. Converted to church belfry in the Middle Ages. Also the tallest Roman structure in the UK. |
World’s first commercial wet dock | Liverpool Old Dock | Thomas Steers | 1715 | Liverpool | Merseyside | Permitted ships to dock during low tide. Was filled in and built upon before being rediscovered during the construction of a shopping complex. |
World’s oldest commissioned naval vessel | HMS Victory | 1765 | Portsmouth | Hampshire | Participated in the Battle of Trafalgar as Lord Nelson’s flagship. Also the vessel he died on. Now functions as a museum ship. | |
World’s oldest working lighthouse at sea | Bell Rock Lighthouse | Robert Stevenson | 1810 | East Scottish coast near Arbroath | Built on a submerged rock notorious for shipwrecks. Described as one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World due to the sheer challenge of construction. | |
World’s oldest surviving cast iron pier | Gravesend Town Pier | William Tierney Clark | 1834 | Gravesend | Kent | Used for alighting passengers on steam packet ferry services into London. Fell into disuse around 1900 after the arrival of the railways. Restored in 2002. Currently used by river bus services into London. |
World’s oldest surviving iron steamship | SS Great Britain | Isambard Kingdom Brunel | 1843 | Bristol | Bristol | The first ship to be built of iron with screw propeller. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853. Now functions as a museum ship. |
World’s first lighthouse with an electrical lamp | South Foreland Upper Lighthouse | John Yenn (Lighthouse Architect) Frederick Hale Holmes | 1793 (Lighthouse Built) 1858 (Electric Lamp Fitted) | St Margarets Bay | Kent | Original lighthouse was built in 1793 with an oil lamp. Then used for a trial running a carbon arc lamp. Decommissioned in 1988. Now owned by the National Trust. |
World’s first purpose-built electric lighthouse | Souter Lighthouse | William Armstrong | 1871 | Whitburn | Northumberland | Specifically designed and built to run an light powered by alternating electric current. Also the site of Guglielmo Marconi’s pioneering experiments in wireless radio transmissions. Decommissioned in 1988. Now owned by the National Trust. |
Other world’s oldest industrial heritage
Title | Name | Engineer | Date | Location | County | Notes |
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World’s oldest working clock | Salisbury Cathedral Clock | Unknown | c.1386 | Salisbury Cathedral | Wiltshire | A faceless verge and foliot clock that operates using a system of gears and weights. It was originally located in a bell tower that was demolished in 1790. It lay undiscovered until 1928. It was restored in 1956 with reproduced parts. |
World’s oldest working church bells | St Lawrence Church | Unknown | c.1440s | Ipswich | Suffolk | Has the oldest ring of five church bells in the world with the oldest dating from the 1440s. Ringing stopped in 1985 when the bell tower was declared no longer stable. In 2009, they were moved further down the tower and once again brought into use. |
World’s first iron-framed building | Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings | Charles Bage | 1797 | Shrewsbury | Shropshire | Built using rows of cast iron columns with cast iron beams and wrought iron tie rods supporting brick flooring. Often referred to as the “grandfather of skyscrapers” due to its pioneering construction methods. The 5 storey complex initially served as a flax mill and later as a malting facility for brewing. |