Arch Bridge 16 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. There are 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.

Bridge 16
This bridge is between the bottom lock number one on the canal and a railway bridge. When the canal was first built work started from each end working towards the point where the 16 locks were to be built. However money ran out before the locks could be started and a temporary rail line was built near to where the locks were to be built. Although this allowed the canal to operate it meant that the goods had to be transhipped between the railway and canal.

This bridge not only acted as a roving bridge for the towpath but also carried an unnamed road to the nearby railway wharves. See section J on this history web page which gives details of the railway wharves.

There is also a building next to the bridge which is still used today, and the bridge still provides access to this.

Bridge 16 is a National Heritage Grade II Listed Building.

Physical Location (city, county, etc.): Marple Greater, Manchester Road, Highway, Street, etc.: Unnamed access road Water or other terrain spanned: The Peak Forest Canal Architect/Builder: Benjamin Outram and Thomas Brown engineers. Construction Date: 1801

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