Meaford Lock Bridge - Meadford, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 52° 55.088 W 002° 09.776
30U E 556281 N 5863491
This single span brick bridge carries a minor road over the Trent & Mersey Canal and is bridge 98.
Waymark Code: WM10B9N
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/06/2019
Views: 3
"As its name implies, the Trent and Mersey canal (T & M) was built to link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth (in Derbyshire) to the River Mersey. The second connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal, which it joins at Preston Brook in Cheshire. Note that although mileposts measure the distance to Preston Brook and Shardlow, Derwent Mouth is a mile or so beyond Shardlow.
The plan of a canal connection from the Mersey to the Trent ("The Grand Trunk") came from canal engineer James Brindley. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1766 and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in July that year at Brownhills, Burslem. In 1777, the canal was completed, including more than 70 locks and five tunnels, with the company headquarters in Stone."
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The bridge was built next to lock 34. Bridges are often built next to locks as the canal is at its narrowest here making the bridge cheaper and easier to build.
In this case although the bridge is not very wide, the lock is relatively deep at 3 metres and so the bridge is unusually high for this canal.