Tixall Bridge Over The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal - Tixall, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 52° 47.567 W 002° 02.300
30U E 564845 N 5849652
This single arch brick bridge carries minor road Holdiford Road over the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal and is bridge number 106.
Waymark Code: WM10DW0
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/20/2019
Views: 2
"The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is 46 miles (74 km) long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywood Junction by Great Haywood.
James Brindley was the chief engineer of the canal, which was part of his "Grand Cross" plan for waterways connecting Hull, Liverpool and Bristol.
The Act of Parliament authorising the canal was passed on 14 May 1766. This created "The Company of Proprietors of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Navigation", which was empowered to raise an initial £70,000 (equivalent to £9,561,529 in 2018), with a further £30,000 (equivalent to £4,097,798 in 2018), if needed, to fund the canal's construction.
The canal was completed in 1771 for a cost that exceeded the authorised capital, and opened to trade in 1772. It was a commercial success, with trade from the Staffordshire Potteries southwards to Gloucester and Bristol, and trade from the Black Country northwards to the Potteries via the junction with the Birmingham Canal at Aldersley.
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The bridge carries Holdiford Road over the canal and is single track at the point the road meets the bridge. The road connects the village of Tixall with the canal.
It is built on a slight bend on the canal and when originally built the boats were towed by horses and the tow ropes rubbed against the bridge supports and cut groves into them. The remains of metal protectors installed to stop the rubbing can still be seen.
Much of the brick work of the parapets have been replaced and are newer than the bridge buttresses.