It is the oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge in the world, and a key element of the industrial heritage of England.

[2] It was built in 1725–26 by stonemason Ralph Wood, funded by a conglomeration of coal-owners known as the "Grand Allies" (founded by Colonel Liddell, the Hon.

Charles Montague and George Bowes the owner of Gibside Estate on which the bridge is situated) at a cost of £12,000.

Two tracks crossed the Arch: one (the "main way") to take coal to the River Tyne, and the other (the "bye way") for returning the empty wagons.

There are a series of scenic public paths around the area and the Causey Burn which runs underneath it.