Bridge 123H Over Shropshire Union Canal - Chester, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 11.636 W 002° 53.627
30U E 507096 N 5893849
This narrow footbridge high over the canal is known as The Bridge of Sighs. It used to serve a similar purpose as the more famous Bridge of Sighs in Venice.
Waymark Code: WMWF5X
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/26/2017
Views: 1
The Canal
Before canals became popular in the UK there was a port on the River Dee at Chester.
After the Trent and Mersy Canal was built a loat of boat traffic diverted to the canal and Chester was worried about losing all its trade and so proposed a canal from the River Dee to connect to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Middlewich
with a branch to Nantwich. However the Trent and Mersey Canal were unco-operative about a junction at Middlewich, and so the route to Nantwich was opened in 1779.
Later on in 1795 the Ellesmere Canal was built from Ellesmere Port to connect to the Chester Canal and later after other extensions various parts of the Canal were merged to form the Shropshire Union Canal.
The Bridge
This bridge is over a stretch of the canal which was originally part of the Chester Canal, before it became the Shropshire Union Canal.
Chester was an important town in Roman times and was heavily defended by a wall round the town. Most of these town walls still exist and at this point the canal passes very close to the wall in a deep cutting made through sandstone rocks.
At the time the canal was built the city jail was next to the city walls and condemned prisoners used to be escorted to a chapel in a nearby building to be given the last rites before they were then hanged.
After the canal was built this footbridge had to be built high above the canal to take the prisoners to the chapel At that time the bridge had railings to prevent prisoners falling off or jumping off the bridge.
These days there is no access to the bridge and the railings have been removed.
It is very close to a road bridge that carries Northgate Street at the same height over the canal.
The bridge is a Historic England Grade II Listed Building
"Footbridge over ravine of Chester Canal. Probably late C18. Coursed red sandstone; shallow flush voussoirs to the slender segmental arch; plinths to footway; railings removed; access now blocked from both banks. The footbridge was used to take prisoners from the City gaol on site of No.1 Upper Northgate Street (qv) to the former Chapel of St John in the south wing of the Bluecoat School, (qv)."
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