TALLEST - Masonry Arch Aqueduct - Marple, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 24.428 W 002° 04.091
30U E 561944 N 5917967
The Marple Aqueduct carries the Peak Forest Canal 90 feet above the River Goyt. It is widely recognised as a great feat of Engineering, is a Historic England Grade I Listed building and this Transport Trust red plaque states it's the tallest in UK.
Waymark Code: WM10ETV
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/25/2019
Views: 2
The Peak Forest Canal
It is a narrow canal constructed between 1794 and 1805 and is fourteen miles long. It connects Buxworth with Dukinfield where it joins the Ashton Canal. The main purpose of the canal was to transport limestone from quarries above Buxworth. There are sixteen locks near the town of Marple that raise the canal a height of 210 feet in a distance of 1 mile.
The advent of the railways and later modern roads led to the decline of the canal and it fell into disuse between 1920 and 1960. An upsurge in leisure boat use led to the canal being restored and reopened in 1974.
The Aqueduct
The River Goyt formed a natural barrier between the lower level of the canal and the nearby flight of 16 locks that raise the canal 210 feet to the upper level of the canal.
The solution was to build this elegant aqueduct to carry boats 90 feet above the level of the river.
In 2016 the Transport Trust also placed one of their Red Plaques at the eastern end of the aqueduct. The Transport Trust is Britain’s only charity dedicated to the preservation of all modes of transport and its infrastructure. Their Red Wheel heritage plaque scheme promotes transport heritage right across the country, the transport equivalent of a blue plaque. Each plaque describes the site and directs the reader to their website.
link
TRANSPORT TRUST
MARPLE
'GRAND AQUEDUCT'
This elegant aqueduct, designed by
Benjamin Outram, and built 1794-1800,
is the tallest masonry arch
aqueduct in the UK
For further information visit
www.transportheritage.com
TRANSPORT HERITAGE SITE