Fritchley Tunnel
Fritchley Tunnel is a disused railway tunnel in Fritchley, Derbyshire. It is believed to be the oldest surviving railway tunnel in the world. It was built in 1793 by Benjamin Outram as part of the Butterley Gangroad, a mainly horse-drawn tramway. In the 1840s it was upgraded to carry steam locomotives, and part of the line was moved, with the southern end rebuilt a little to the west.
The tunnel runs under Chapel Street for about 22.6 metres (74 feet) and is about 3.05 metres (10 feet) high. It is made of sandstone blocks with a circular arched roof. A bend about 15 metres from the north end marks the end of the original 1793 section, and the join area shows brick repairs on the northeast wall. The entrances are blocked today; the northern end has soil above it and the southern end sits under a modern red-brick structure.
Butterley Gangroad linked quarries at Crich with the Cromford Canal at Bullbridge. The railway was used until 1933. During World War II, Fritchley Tunnel was used as an air raid shelter. It was sealed in 1977 and by 1989 both entrances were buried. Archaeological work in February 2013 briefly uncovered it. In February 2015, the tunnel was made a scheduled monument because it is the earliest surviving railway tunnel and shows early tunnel engineering.
Location details: at the junction of Chapel Street with Bobbin Mill Hill and Front Street, near Riverside Cottage in Fritchley. The northern entrance has a parapet along Chapel Street. The site includes a stone sleeper with an iron spike found inside, and a soil path showing wear from horses. The nearby Grade-II-listed tramway embankment at Bobbin Mill Hill lies about 50 metres north.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:49 (CET).