Mill Race Stone Footbridge - Slaithwaite, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 37.619 W 001° 51.737
30U E 575240 N 5942623
This small footbridge crosses an outlet channel that was used to feed a mill race for an old textile mill.
Waymark Code: WMQX7P
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/09/2016
Views: 1
The mill race is between the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution a large number of textile mills in the Colne Valley in the Pennine Hills took advantage of the river to power water wheels for the textile mills.
The Canal
Direct routes from Manchester and the north-west to the waterways of East Yorkshire were proposed in the mid 18th century, but it was not until 1794 that an Act of Parliament was passed for the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Work started on it in 1794 and partly due to the need to construct the longest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom it was completed 17 years later in 1811.
The canal is only 20 miles long and due to the nature of the terrain has 74 locks even though the summit tunnel reduced the required number of locks. The canal climbs 436 feet from Huddersfield and descends 334 feet to Ashton-Under-Lyne.
Due to the number of locks on the canal many local mill owners were opposed to the building of the canal because they feared that in the summer it would be necessary to take water out of the nearby streams to feed the canal.
The Bridge
In this case the mill race is between the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
The bridge is next to a sluice gate used to control the flow of water and so allows access to the sluice gates, but there is also a footpath alongside the mill race and the footpath connects to the towpath of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
What type of traffic does this bridge support?: Pedestrians
What kind of gap does this bridge cross?:
Mill race channel supplied from the River Colne.
Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: No
Name of road or trail the bridge services: Unnamed footpath
Location:
Slaithwaite, Yorkshire
Length of bridge: Not listed
Height of bridge: Not listed
Date constructed: Not listed
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