Arch Bridge 2 Over The Macclesfield Canal – Marple, UK - Stone Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal was one of the last narrow canals to be built, indeed, it was very nearly built as a railway! A variety of ideas were proposed and the present canal was approved by Act of Parliament in April 1826. The route of the canal was surveyed by Thomas Telford and construction was engineered by William Crosley. The completed canal was opened on 9th November 1831 at a cost of £320,000.

The route takes the canal from Marple Junction with the Peak Forest Canal in the north 26¼ miles to the stop lock at Hall Green near Kidsgrove passing along the side of the most westerly Pennine hills through High Lane, Higher Poynton, Bollington, Macclesfield and Congleton, all in Cheshire, and Kidsgrove in Staffordshire in the south. Nowadays we normally regard the last 1½ miles to Harding's Wood Junction with the Trent & Mersey Canal as a part of the Macclesfield Canal although it was built as a branch of the T&MC. link

The Bridge
This bridge is situated at the far end of canal wharves from the junction with the Macclesfield Canal and Peak Forest Canal. It is an English Heritage Grade II Listed Building link "Roving bridge. Completed by 1831. William Crossley engineer. Dressed stone with ashlar dressings. Skew bridge with spiral tow-path walk. Horseshoe arch with keystone. Ashlar band and concave parapet walls with rounded coping which terminate in battered square piers (except where it sweeps round the tow-path walk)."

Roving bridges were used where the tow path crossed from one side of the canal to the other and its spiral shape allowed horses to continue to tow the canal boat without disconnecting the tow rope.

There are a number of these elegant bridges on this canal and are usually used to switch the tow path to the other side of the canal near wharves. This allowed boats to move along the canal without interfering with unloading or loading operations on the wharves.

Modern levels of road traffic have led to a modern footbridge for pedestrians being built on the far side of the bridge away from the spiral tow path.

Physical Location (city, county, etc.): Marple, Greater Manchester Road, Highway, Street, etc.: Church Lane Water or other terrain spanned: The Macclesfield Canal Architect/Builder: William Crossley Construction Date: 1831

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