Arch Bridge 34 Over The Macclesfield Canal – Hurdsfield, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 15.976 W 002° 06.359
30U E 559626 N 5902263
This road bridge is known as Chapel-en-le-Frith bridge.
Waymark Code: WMQF8P
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/20/2016
Views: 2
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.
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The Bridge
The bridge is an elliptical single arch bridge built in the same design as other original bridges on the canal, most of which are Grade II Listed Buildings. However this bridge has been widened with a modern concrete road deck on one side of it.
The bridge is on a slight bend in the canal and the arch stones have grooves cut in them from where the tow ropes on the horse drawn boats rubbed against them.