Summary

Single span canal bridge No.109 at Haywood Junction.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 3 July 2015. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a single span canal bridge situated at the junction of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal with the Trent and Mersey canal at Great Haywood. It is built of red brick construction with a wide elliptical arch and low stone-coped parapets. The bridge carries the towpath of the Trent and Mersey canal over the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal and is contemporary with the latter canal dating to 1772. A cast iron plate on the east side of the bridge numbers the bridge 109. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal runs from Stourport to Great Haywood, a distance of 46 miles. It was designed by the engineer James Brindley and was part of his Grand Cross scheme linking the ports of Hull, Liverpool, Bristol and London by connecting the rivers Mersey, Trent, Severn and Thames. The monument is also a Grade II listed building.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The principal age of canal building began in England in 1759 and over the following 70 years canals played an important part in the growth and expansion of trade in many parts of the country. In Staffordshire the canals linked the pottery industry to the river network and major ports. Canals also facilitated the relatively rapid movement of bulk agricultural produce from the countryside to the rapidly expanding industrial towns of the north and the midlands. Canal construction brought with it a whole range of associated structures. Many of these, such as bridges, canal workers' houses, warehouses, wet docks, dry docks, locks and water management systems involved the modification and development of the existing designs of such structures to meet the new requirements of the Canal Age, which also introduced the need for major technological innovation. The earlier canal bridges tended to be of brick or stone, depending on the local sources available and provided access for horse-drawn boats. They are usually single span due to the narrowness of the canals. During the later period cast iron bridges became more prominent. Normally a local builder was appointed by the engineer to construct a number of bridges creating local distinctiveness in bridge designs. The great age of canals lasted until about the 1840s, when their utility was eroded by the huge expansion of railways with their quick and cheap transportation of people and goods. During their relatively brief period of use, however, canals became the most important method of industrial transportation, making a major contribution to England's Industrial Revolution. Surviving remains of the early industrial waterways transport network and associated structures are particularly important both by virtue of their rarity and representivity.

The single span canal bridge No.109 at Haywood Junction survives in good condition and represents a very good example of a canal bridge belonging to the earlier canal building period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Pratt, D (Author), The Architecture of Canals, (2005, Shire Publications)
Other
Pastscape: 77467, HER: DST5807 & NMR: SJ92SE39

Source: Historic England