Rochdale Canal Bridge Number 10 – Mytholmroyd, UK - Arch Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.

The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days two of them have been combined into one deep lock in front of this tunnel.

Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.

In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages.

Details of the bridge
This is bridge number 10 on The Rochdale Canal and was built in 1798 by Jessop and Crossley engineers. This is at the time that the part of the canal between Sowerby Bridge and Rochdale was opened, earlier than some other parts of the canal.

As the canal crosses the Pennine Hills it shares a fairly narrow valley bottom with, The River Calder, a major road, and a railway line connecting Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.

At this point the main A646 road crosses the canal at a point where there are old warehouses alongside the canal. Some of the warehouses are actually built on top of the bridge at the side of the road.

The bridge has a single horse shoe elliptical arch, and is as usual with canal bridges at a point where the canal narrows greatly. This reduced the cost of building the bridge.

What type of traffic does this bridge support?: Motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: The Rochdale Canal Date constructed: 1798 Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: Yes Name of road or trail the bridge services: Burnley Road (A646) Location: Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire Length of bridge: Not listed Height of bridge: Not listed

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