Borrows Bridge Over Bridgewater Canal - Halton, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 19.748 W 002° 39.577
30U E 522669 N 5908938
This single arch brick bridge carries Red Brow Lane over the Bridgewater Canal.
Waymark Code: WMQD6B
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/08/2016
Views: 2
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."
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The Bridge
This brick built bridge is of a similar design to all the original bridges on the canal.
The canal always narrows at these original bridges to make the building of the bridge simpler and cheaper to build. Because these locations were so narrow many of them were used as places to use stop planks to block the canal if repairs are needed to be carried out.
This bridge is one of them and there is a store of stop planks next to the bridge as well as a crane to lift them.
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.