Norton Town Bridge Over Bridgewater Canal - Halton, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 20.038 W 002° 39.869
30U E 522342 N 5909474
This brick built single arch bridge carries a footpath over the Bridgewater Canal.
Waymark Code: WMQD0E
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/07/2016
Views: 1
The Bridgewater Canal
"The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Worsley to Manchester, and later extended from Manchester to Runcorn, and then from Worsley to Leigh.
Often considered to be the first "true" canal in England, as it relied upon existing watercourses as sources of water rather than as navigable routes. Navigable throughout its history, it is one of the few canals in Britain not to have been nationalised, and remains privately owned. Pleasure craft now use the canal which forms part of the Cheshire Ring network of canals."
link
The Bridge
This brick arch is of a similar design to all the original bridges on the canal.
On most UK canals the bridges are numbered, but on the Bridgewater Canal they are named, the style of the nameplates is white background with green lettering.
In this case the bridge name has been damaged and only half of it remains attached to the bridge parapet.
When the canal was first built the boats were towed by horses and the tow ropes rubbed against the bridges especially where they were on a bend. As time went on wooden rollers were installed on the bridges to protect them. Not many of these rollers remain, but evidence can be seen on this bridge where one was installed.