It has survived two world wars and nearly 200 years of northern English weather – but nothing threatens critical infrastructure like a Harry Styles fan.
A Grade II-listed railway viaduct in rural Cheshire has had to be guarded by a wall to stop souvenir-hungry Harries damaging the 183-year-old structure.
The Twemlow Viaduct, which carries England’s busy west coast mainline, has become a shrine for Styles fans from across the world as it is reputedly the site of his first kiss.
Thousands of people have scrawled their name into its Edwardian arches, leaving messages such as: “You are home,” “We’ll be alright” and even “Harry – I’ve had your baby.”
The viaduct, near Styles’s childhood home in the idyllic village of Holmes Chapel, has become a must-visit attraction since it featured in a 2013 film about the rise of One Direction. But it has taken on a whole new level of fame since Styles’s popularity went stratospheric in recent years, prompting villagers to launch official tours in June.
Many fans have written their names on the historical structure, while others have taken their hunt for a souvenir one step further. “People are putting murals and messages of support on; however, the paints and solvents are actually damaging the brickwork and people have been taking bricks out,” said Rob Stephens, a senior engineer for Network Rail, which maintains the viaduct.
The rail firm has now fenced off part of the 23-arch structure and erected a specially constructed wall with black boards for fans to inscribe their names, with the aim of preventing further damage.
Within 24 hours, Harries from as far away as the US and Germany had left messages on the new wall.
Sophia Trey and her friend Emmagin Warner, both 19, had made “Harry’s wall” their first sightseeing trip while visiting the UK from their home in Denver, Colorado.
“It’s insane,” said Trey, placing a pebble in the colours of the Colorado flag by one of the arches. “It doesn’t feel real but in the best way possible. It’s so amazing to see 15 years of fans. It’s a step into his home.”
Warner said: “It’s like a dream. [Harry] wrote on it in the movie. It’s a place to bring everybody together because all of us get to sign the wall. We all love each other in this fandom.”
The two friends had made the 4,500-mile trip to the UK for Trey’s 20th birthday and were making a flying visit to Holmes Chapel before travelling to London to see a concert by Niall Horan, Styles’s former bandmate, the next week.
Trey said she approved of the new protective fence: “I think it’s great because once it starts to become harmful it’s like, OK, why are we doing that? Keeping it like it is is important.”
Caitlin Dixon, 14, had made a shorter trip to the viaduct – she attends Styles’s old school in Holmes Chapel – and was pleased to see village’s heritage being protected: “Harry would definitely approve of it. It’s nearly 200 years old so it’s good to stop it being ruined and fans can still come down and sign it.”
About 10,000 Styles fans are expected to have visited Holmes Chapel by the end of this year – nearly double its population and twice the number who made the pop pilgrimage in 2023.
Peter Whiers, chair of the Holmes Chapel Partnership, which launched the guided tours in June, said concerts by Horan and Taylor Swift – Styles’s former girlfriend – had brought legions more Harries to the once-sleepy village.
Stephens, of Network Rail, rejected the accusation that the firm was being a party-pooper by fencing off the arches.
“We’re trying to promote it in a safe and sustainable way that isn’t going to cause vandalism to a Grade II-listed structure,” he said. “By fencing the viaduct off, we are actually preserving messages that have already been left.”
Now the Harries have been kept at bay, the main question is what to do once the new signature boards have been filled.
It is one Network Rail will have to answer sooner than they thought. By Thursday lunchtime, dozens of fans had already tramped across muddy farmers’ fields to leave their mark at the site. “There were more people here than I thought there would be, if I’m being honest,” said Stephens.
