Canal Lock 12 Arch Bridge On The Peak Forest Canal – Marple, UK - Stone Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Peak Forest Canal
It is a narrow canal and is fourteen miles long and connects Buxworth with Dukinfiled where it joins the Ashton Canal. The sixteen locks near the town of Marple 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. Further restoration led to the historical basin at Buxworth reopening in 2003.

Lock 12 Bridge
All of the stone arch bridges are built over the tail of the locks, next to the lock gates to give access to both sides of the canal to operate the lock gates. All the locks on the canal are designed to carry boats with a maximum length of 72 feet and a width of 7 feet. The arch of the bridge does not span the tow path and so it is just slightly wider than 7 feet. Locks are always the narrowest point of the canal and building the bridge next to the lock makes it cheaper and easier to build

Apart from 3 bridges which also carry roads, the bridges are all of a similar design and are just big enough for boat owners to walk across and access each side of the lock.

The combined lock and bridge structure is a National Heritage Grade II Listed Building.The listing tells us that it was built between 1803 and 1805.

Physical Location (city, county, etc.): Marple, Greater Manchester Road, Highway, Street, etc.: Unnamed footpath Water or other terrain spanned: The Peak Forest Canal Architect/Builder: Designed by Benjamin Outram and Thomas Brown and built by James and Fox. Construction Date: 1804

Visit Instructions:
Post one photo of the bridge that is a different view from the one on the page and describe your visit. Add any additional information that you may have about this bridge. A GPSr photo is NOT required.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.