Wellington Bridge - Stockport, UK - Arch Bridges on Waymarking.com

Stockport is built on a sandstone outcrop cut through by the River Mersey. This bridge crosses the river and connects 2 high parts of the town.

It is a Historic England Grade II Listed Building with the following description.

"It is an intact 1824-6 stone viaduct of eleven arches carrying the road above the lower river valley to avoid congestion caused by the town's topography * The structure is an impressive early C19 engineering feat undertaken by a turnpike trust * Together with the brick railway viaduct (q.v.), which runs parallel to the road, it forms an important part of the dramatic transport infrastructure of Stockport's urban landscape.

Road viaduct. 1824-6 to designs of James Nowell for the Manchester and Buxton Trust. Gritstone, concrete, cast-iron. EXTERIOR: Eleven segmental arches of varying spans, the arch spanning the River Mersey being 27.4m wide. River arch has voussoirs and coursed stonework to west side, adjoining arch to the south has radiating stonework to its west side, and southernmost visible arch (over Daw Bank) has voussoirs and coursed stonework. The remaining visible arches are rendered on west side. Widened on east side in concrete, except for arch over Daw Bank where a cast-iron deck was added to east side. The widening was part of the Mersey Square Improvement which is commemorated on a plaque set on the east side of the viaduct. Parapet a modern coursed stone replacement retaining two earlier elements on west side with decorative stone capping. One has a plaque stating `Wellington Bridge', the other with individual metal letters spelling out `Wellington Road North' and a pointing hand. HISTORY: On 23 March 1824 an Act of Parliament gave the pre-existing Manchester and Buxton Trust the right to construct Wellington Road, a straight road running for about 3 ½ miles in a north-south direction, crossing the lowest part of the river valley by means of the viaduct. It was built as a means of avoiding the existing more congested route through the historic town centre. The cost of the road and viaduct was £36,000. The formal opening took place on 3 July 1826. By 1900s a new open square known as Mersey Square had been created alongside the east side of Wellington Bridge, its two halves linked by a new bridge. In 1935, as part of an improvement scheme, the river between the two neighbouring bridges was covered over, and Wellington Bridge was widened.

SOURCES: Henry Heginbotham, `Stockport Ancient and Modern' Vol II (London, 1892), 118-119, Peter Arrowsmith, `Stockport A History' (Stockport, 1997), 14, 247." link

What type of traffic does this bridge support?: Motor vehicles, bikes and pedestrians What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: River Mersey Date constructed: 1826 Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: Yes Name of road or trail the bridge services: Wellington Road Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester Length of bridge: Not listed Height of bridge: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit. If the bridge location prevents you from taking a safe photograph, then please do not stop to take the photo. Safety is more important.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.