Nicholas Pevnser, in Buildings of England, West Riding of Yorkshire, says  that the town and river were 'dominated.......by the castle but now by the railway', castigating the way that it bisects Knaresborough , as 'one of the most notable railway crimes in England'. 'To castellate this bridge dies not make it a picturesque object', he wrote.

Most people today would disagree with his view and in fact the viaduct is very much synonymous with Knaresborough and makes a magnificent backdrop to the view from the castle walls.