MEM24814 - 19th Century railway embankment south of Parracombe (Monument)

SS 67364 417. A railway embankment first appears on the 25 inch early 20th Century 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey map. It carries the railway line across a valley created by the River Heddon. [1,2] The embankment is shown on 2018 MasterMap data, although the centre has been eroded by the river. [3] On the night of 15 August 1952 rainwater broke through the blocked drainage holes of the disused railway culvert, creating a surge of water that tore through Parracombe further down the river, causing several deaths and much damage. [4]