Trubshawe Cross Bridge - 1985 - Longport, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 02.728 W 002° 12.820
30U E 552714 N 5877617
This date stone is embedded in the brick work of this bridge that carries pedestrians over the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Waymark Code: WMZX4K
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/16/2019
Views: 2
"As its name implies, the Trent and Mersey canal (T & M) was built to link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth (in Derbyshire) to the River Mersey. The second connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal, which it joins at Preston Brook in Cheshire. Note that although mileposts measure the distance to Preston Brook and Shardlow, Derwent Mouth is a mile or so beyond Shardlow.
The plan of a canal connection from the Mersey to the Trent ("The Grand Trunk") came from canal engineer James Brindley. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1766 and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in July that year at Brownhills, Burslem. In 1777, the canal was completed, including more than 70 locks and five tunnels, with the company headquarters in Stone."
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The Longport area of the canal historically had a number of pottery factories and warehouses. The industry has declined but a number of buildings still survive along this stretch of the canal.
The bridge is number 127 on the canal and there would always have been a bridge, at this site, but was rebuilt by the British Waterways Board in 1985.
The date stone is currently obscured by a mural / graffiti painting that celebrates the North Staffordshire Regiment (NSR) painted to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.