Manchester Road Bridge - Dukinfield, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 27.165 W 002° 05.205
30U E 560644 N 5923026
This date plaque records the fact that Manchester Road Bridge over the Paek Forest Canal was renovated in 1986 and opened by Councillor J. Pettit B.E.M. Mayor of Tameside.
Waymark Code: WMMR7A
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/28/2014
Views: 6
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.
Manchester Road Bridge
The bridge is an arch road bridge with an attached roving bridge. At various points along the canal, the tow path switches from one side of the canal to the other.
At the time the canal opened canal boats were towed by horses. A roving bridge allowed the horse to switch from one side of the canal to the other without disconnecting the tow rope. The original supports for the roving bridge still remain and made out of stone, however a modern girder construction now carries the tow path over the canal for pedestrians.
The plaque on the bridge has the following text.
Manchester Road Bridge
This Canal Bridge was renovated by
Tameside Canals Limited
in conjunction with
Tameside M.B.C. Agency
as part of the
Manpower Services Commission Community Programme
Opened by
Cllr. J. Pettit B.E.M. Mayor of Tameside
on 25th June 1986
The Office of Mayor
The office of mayor in most modern English and Welsh boroughs and towns did not in the 20th century entail any important administrative duties, and was generally regarded as an honour conferred for local distinction, long service on the Council, or for past services. The mayor was expected to devote much of his (or her) time to civic, ceremonial, and representational functions, and to preside over meetings for the advancement of the public welfare. His or her administrative duties are to act as returning officer at parliamentary elections, and as chairman of the meetings of the council.
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John V. Pettit B.E.M. was Mayor of Tameside from 1986 1987.
The Honorific B.E.M.
The British Empire Medal (formally British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown.[1] It was established in 1922 to replace the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service. Recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "BEM" and it is divided into civil and military medals in a similar way to the Order of the British Empire itself. While recipients are not technically counted as members of the Order, these medals are nevertheless affiliated with it.
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