1885 – Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway opened the extension to a new station at Winchester (Chesil) but finances could not be raised for the continuation to Southampton. The London & South Western Railway built a 1.5 mile line from Winchester to their main line in Shawford.
1891 – the LSWR, engineer WL Galbraith, built the Hockley Viaduct. It was constructed of concrete and brickwork arches and parapets. Consisting of 33 arches, it is over 600 metres long and 12 metres high.
1914 – in WWI, the viaduct was on the main supply route to France.
1942 – In WW2, the railway line was closed to passengers and used for military traffic for the invasion of Europe. In the year prior to D-Day, 16,000 trains crossed the Viaduct’s single track to join the Southampton line.
1960 – the last passenger service used the viaduct in March.
2007 – The Friends of Hockley Viaduct Trust was established.
