"The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is 46 miles (74 km) long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywood Junction by Great Haywood.
James Brindley was the chief engineer of the canal, which was part of his "Grand Cross" plan for waterways connecting Hull, Liverpool and Bristol.
The Act of Parliament authorising the canal was passed on 14 May 1766. This created "The Company of Proprietors of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Navigation", which was empowered to raise an initial £70,000 (equivalent to £9,561,529 in 2018), with a further £30,000 (equivalent to £4,097,798 in 2018), if needed, to fund the canal's construction.
The canal was completed in 1771 for a cost that exceeded the authorised capital, and opened to trade in 1772. It was a commercial success, with trade from the Staffordshire Potteries southwards to Gloucester and Bristol, and trade from the Black Country northwards to the Potteries via the junction with the Birmingham Canal at Aldersley.
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The bridge is a Historic England Grade II Listed Building.
"II Canal accommodation bridge, No. 105. Late-C18 by canal engineer James Brindley for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
MATERIAL: Random bond brick with sandstone coping, though replaced in part with engineering brick.
DESCRIPTION: The bridge is ramped down to the towpath approach on the west side, and terminates in corner piers on the east side. It has a semi-elliptical arch, sandstone string course and plain parapets. The west and east faces each carry a cast-iron plaque bearing the name and number of the bridge. There appears to have been some minor repairs to the structure.
HISTORY: The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal was one of the earliest canals, constructed under an Act of 1766 and opened fully for traffic in 1772. Devised by James Brindley, the canal runs for 46½ miles between Great Haywood, where it joins the Trent & Mersey Canal (completed 1777) to Stourport where it connects with the River Severn. The canal forms one of the arms of Brindley's `Grand Cross', a scheme to link the Rivers Trent, Mersey, Thames and Severn, and was the first of the arms to be completed.
SOURCES: Victoria County History, A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 5: East Cuttlestone Hundred (1959) 1-11 J. Ian Langford, Towpath Guide for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (1974), 37-8
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Milford Bridge (No.105) on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Despite some minor repairs, it is good example of a substantially intact canal structure of c.1770 * It is considered to be one of the earliest examples of a turnover bridge in the country * It was designed by James Brindley, a noted navigation engineer * It is of historic interest in the context of both the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and as part of the national waterways system of the late C18"
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The design of turnover bridges allowed horses to walk over the bridge and continue on the other side without unhitching the tow rope.