Siddals Bridge Over The Trent And Mersey Canal - Meaford, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 52° 55.243 W 002° 09.791
30U E 556261 N 5863779
This single span brick bridge carries a farm track over the Trent & Mersey Canal and is bridge 99.
Waymark Code: WM10B0Q
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/04/2019
Views: 4
"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 bridge was built as an accommodation bridge for a nearby farm.
It is a Historic England Grade II Listed Building.
"Canal accommodation bridge. Late C18. Red brick with stone coping. Single span with towpath. Segmental headed arch. Swept wings terminating in piers at all 4 comers. Stone plaque at crown on both sides. Minor repairs include engineering brick replacement to parts of voussoirs and beneath coping. The Trent and Mersey Canal was built between 1766 and 1777 by James Brindley and Hugh Henshall. Charles Hadfield, The Canals of the West Midlands (1966) Jean Lindsay, The Trent and Mersey Canal (1979)"
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Although farming still takes place here, this bridge is no longer used, has been blocked off and is very overgrown