Discussing this photo with my brother we concluded that the activity indicates the start of the work of dismantling the viaduct in 1965. Several tons of the dressed stone were taken away to build the Mile End Cemetery entrance and boundary wall. Some of the blocks were quite large and expertly dressed and faced. Some stone also was taken away by a local haulage firm to Wilderness Quarry near Mitcheldean. The roof to the left of the crane derrick was the roof of the pumping station. This was a new brick building erected around 1960 to house pumps which propel sewage beyond the Edison Swan or CPC works to filter beds. The General Stores was sited at the base of the left hand pillar. This building burned down on a snowy morning in 1940. When rebuilt, it was only a single storey with a flat roof. The river Wye a couple of hundred yards down the road has flooded past these properties at times of excessive rain. Looking through the pillars across the river Wye the buildings on the hillside were part of the Vaughn Estate, a dedicated Catholic family. A herd of 99 deer was kept on the estate until the late 1950's. The tall tree is a Wellingtonia. These trees of the North American Sequoia family were named to honour the duke of Wellington and his victory over Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo in 1815
Part of the Viaduct railings still exist a few miles from Lydbrook.

- Ken W Sollars.

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