Horse Tunnel On Peak Forest Canal - Mountbridge, UK - Arch Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Peak Forest Canal
The 18th Century had seen the development of the canal network in the UK to carry heavy goods, and led to towns such as Manchester become the first large industrial towns.

There was a demand for limestone and grit stone from the nearby quarries to be transported to Manchester and beyond and so the Peak Forest Canal was built with a connection to the Ashton Canal at Ashton-Under-Lyne.

The canal had a series of 16 locks to lift the canal a height of 209 feet from Ashton-Under-Lyne to Buxworth, but the final rise to the quarries was to high for a canal. So a horse drawn tramway was built to form a connection between the canal junction here and the quarries themselves.

The Horse Tunnel
The upper part of the canal opened in 1796 and although the Buxworth Basin was the busiest part of the canal near here, there was also a short arm of the canal that led to a smaller basin at the town of Whaley Bridge. This short arm was .5 miles long and at this point at the junction there is a horse tunnel. In effect the canal is carried over a lower tow path on an aqueduct formed from this stone arch bridge. It has a segmental arch with rock faced voussoirs.

This tunnel was used by horses towing boats to and from Whaley Bridge and allowed the access to the main part of the canal.

It became an English Heritage Grade II listed building on 10th February 1995.

What type of traffic does this bridge support?: Canal boats on the canal, and pedestrian and cyclists on towpath What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: A low towpath used by horses when going to or coming from Whaley Bridge. These days there is a modern wooden bridge over the canal for pedestrians and cyclists using the towpath, and the tunnel is no longer needed, but is still open. Date constructed: between 1794 and 1801 Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: Yes Name of road or trail the bridge services: Peak Forest Canal Location: Bridgemount, Derbyshire Length of bridge: Not listed Height of bridge: Not listed

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