Historian on the Path for Industrial Heritage (Stewart
Marchant - Oakham, Rutland)
I am an amateur historian and photographer with a particular
interest in industrial history. About two years ago I
became aware of a number of swing and lift bridges that had
been demolished or were in derelict state.
It seemed to me that an essential part of our industrial
heritage was being lost, and I decided to try and create a
record of all movable bridges in the British Isles,
concentrating on those still in existence in the early years
of the 21st Century. Since then I have spent a
considerable amount of time searching for movable bridges
from a wide variety of sources including making site visits
when the opportunity arises.
When I started this research I expected to find around 200
bridges, but at present my database holds over 600 movable
bridges in the British Isles. I have been very encouraged to
find that a number of movable bridges have been, or are
planned to be, restored.
It is my intention eventually to create a website containing
all the information I have gathered.
I am now at the stage that I need to confirm the current
state of bridges that I believe exist, and to begin to build
a body of information about the origins and history of each
bridge, including date of construction, designers,
engineers, manufacturers and contractors etc.
According to my research the following bridges exist on the
Bridgwater and Taunton Canal.
|
bridge summary |
|
Site Name |
No of Bridges |
Type |
sheet |
reference |
|
Bridgwater & Taunton cnl-a-Outwood |
1 |
swing |
|
ST30428 |
|
Bridgwater & Taunton cnl-b-North Newton |
1 |
swing |
|
ST302311 |
|
Bridgwater & Taunton cnl-c-Huntworth |
1 |
swing |
|
ST318343 |
|
Bridgwater & Taunton cnl-d-Crossway,nr busines Pk |
1 |
swing |
|
ST309353 |
|
Bridgwater & Taunton cnl-e-Bathpool-gone? |
0 |
swing |
|
ST253261 |
Could you advise me whether or not this list is accurate,
and offer advice about any corrections needed.
Can you also tell me if you have records about these bridges
and whether or not you could supply more information, or
alternatively if I could be granted access to such records
for research purposes.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time
Stewart Marchant
Oakham
Rutland
Our Reply
Dear Stewart
Thanks for
your email and unfortunately I cannot help you directly.
However, I have forwarded your email to Tony Haskell
author of the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal and also to
Brian Murless who is a long standing member of the
Somerset Industrial Archaeological Society. I hope they
may be able to help you.
I have also
forwarded this reply to some of our committee members in
the aim that they may be able to help you as well. So
you may receive something from them too.
Good luck.
Kind Regards
Andrew Knutt
Mr Murless's (Somerset Industrial Archaeological
Society) Reply To Mr Marchant's Email
Dear Mr. Marchant,
Andrew Knutt of the
Taunton Civic Society has passed along your email
regarding movable bridges.
I wasn't quite clear
from the details in your letter whether you were only
interested in surviving examples, often replacements or
heavily restored, but also in locations from which
bridges have long been removed.
In the case of the
Bridgwater & Taunton, there is an excellent account of
the swing or swivel bridges in Tony Haskell's By
Waterway To Taunton (Somerset Books 1994).
Although now out of print it should be possible to
obtain a copy on inter-library loan.
Two further examples
you may wish to add to your list are the Bascule Bridge
at Bridgwater Docks, which is linked to the eastern end
of the B&TC, and the Telescopic Bridge, originally in
three sections but now reduced to two, which spans the
River Parrett nearby. Details of these can be found in
my book Bridgwater Docks and the River Parrett
(Somerset County Council 1989) again only
available through the library service.
Hope the above is of
assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Brian J. Murless
Archivist, Somerset
Industrial Archaeological Society
Our 2nd Reply (inclusive of Tony Haskell's
contribution. Tony is author and Civic Society member and
you can view some of Tony's work in our River Tone section
click here)
Dear Stewart
Tony Haskell's reply to your enquiry, which I have
forwarded to you. I hope his message aids your research.
Regarding the enquiry, (of which I have made a print for
future thinking about!), much of the information can be
gained from either the Somerset County Council or,
probably better the Taunton Deane Borough Council.
Sedgemoor, of course, would possibly have information on
those bridges in their District, although I rather doubt
it. British Waterways would certainly have
information, contact British Waterways ( Mr Terry Kemp)
at Gloucester Dock, 01452. 318023.
I
don't agree that an essential part of our industrial
heritage is being lost. When the restoration of this
canal was being funded, in particularly stringent
financial days in the early 90's, as much as we could do
to restore the swing bridges was done. Before the
1939-1945 war, all the swing bridges were destroyed on
purpose as the canal was a defence line. Some were later
rebuilt by the local farmers at low level ( as the canal
was no longer navigable), but most
remained destroyed. The restoration of the swing
bridges, and there are 5 that carried road traffic,
could not be rebuilt to the original designs, and had to
comply with the latest highway requirements to carry
loads of up to 30 tons approx. ( a little different
from the horse and cart days of the canal era). Such a
redesign was carried out within the broad outlines of
the original bridges, but it resulted in so heavy a
structure that one person could not operate it and
ingenious ball-bearing mechanisms had to be
introduced. They were very costly to provide, at around
£30,000 each!! Other pedestrian swingbridges were
restored as well. A walk down the canal will show that
there are other situations, e.g. near to Priory road,
Taunton, where the remains of the old brick haunches
still show but there is no longer any need for a bridge
there. Five swing bridges were restored to working
order, Crossways, near the Boat and Anchor Inn at
Bridgwater, at Fordgate, North Newton and Durston/Outwood.
Your correspondent might be interested in a unique
movable bridge that crossed the River Parret, carrying a
railway line into Bridgwater Dock. It was a telescopic
bridge, one of a very few in the country. Sedgemoor
District Council will have the details. Reputedly by
Brunel, but constructed after he died, it involved a
small section of the bridge sliding sideways on rails to
allow a second section of the bridge to move backwards
into the space vacated. Thus the bridge was able to be
opened for river traffic. The bridge has now been
largely restored as a footbridge, but it suffered
dreadfully from its previous owners, British Rail in the
early 1970's!. Mr Marchant may find browsing through my
book 'By Waterway to Taunton' helpful, and no doubt a
copy can be found in a reference library.
Regards
Andrew Knutt
