Stone Bridge 15 On The Peak Forest Canal – Romiley, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 24.470 W 002° 04.352
30U E 561653 N 5918040
This stone arch bridge over the Peak Forest Canal was built as an access bridge for a nearby farm.
Waymark Code: WMMVZ8
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/11/2014
Views: 1
The Peak Forest Canal
It is a narrow canal constructed between 1794 and 1805 and is fourteen miles long. It connects Buxworth with Dukinfield where it joins the Ashton Canal. The main purpose of the canal was to transport limestone from quarries above Buxworth. There are sixteen locks near the town of Marple that raise the canal a height of 210 feet in a distance of 1 mile.
The advent of the railways and later modern roads led to the decline of the canal and it fell into disuse between 1920 and 1960. An upsurge in leisure boat use led to the canal being restored and reopened in 1974.
The Bridge
The bridge was made an English Heritage Grade II Listed Building in 1995 and the listing tells us it has a round headed arch: tooled projecting string at deck level and also for coping: Abutting the bridge at right angles are the walls to a cutting which previously formed a tunnel.
link
The bridge is on a slight bend in the canal and in the days when boats were towed by horses, the tow ropes wore grooves in the bridge supports.