Bridge 70 is the only remaining intact bridge on the closed Uttoxeter Canal. The Caldon & Uttoxter Canal Trust's plan of action was to secure the bridge, preserve it for posterity and make it safer and easier to use. We are delighted to announce that work on the bridge is now complete.
As of January this year bridge 70 has been in the ownership of the Caldon & Uttoxter Canal Trust. This means that we have been able to make structural changes, and also means we have legal obligations which did not exist before, when the bridge did not have an owner.
A few years ago, we had two structural engineers who are bridge experts look at it for us. They confirmed what we suspected, which was that water penetration through the bridge deck was slowly destroying it. You can see evidence of this if you stand under the bridge. We don't want the bridge to collapse as it is the last standing bridge on the Uttoxeter Canal and carries a public footpath well-used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
This is not the first time in living memory that the bridge has been altered. Since the 1970s it has been very different to the bridge as built. A full row of round-topped coping stones on both sides has gone and the drip course has also gone on the eastern (Denstone) side. Additionally when the pumping station was built in 1974 the slope on the lower side of the bridge was scraped out and a pile of stones dropped onto that side to make it stable.
A restoration project took place around that time (we're not sure when but probably mid to late 70s) putting back some of the stones on the eastern side, including laying some coping stones on their side. The bridge was also re-pointed, but unfortunately this work was all done using cement, not lime mortar. Sadly, the cement has been progressively damaging the stone for the last 50 odd years.
So we applied for grant funding from the Churnet Valley Living Landscape to save the bridge and maintain it for safe use by the public. In 2012 the CVLLP programme of projects commenced, with HLF funding, and our project could start in earnest. We arranged frequent volunteer work parties and are deeply grateful to all the volunteer man hours that made this project possible.
In terms of making Bridge 70 safe to access, a suggestion was made by one of the structural engineers that we should put handrails across the bridge. An alternative proposal was that we should raise the sides of the bridge by two courses of stone. We were not keen on either option, for visual reasons. We believe the most important views of the bridge are from the sides. Instead our compromise was that we would create a defined path down the centre and put steps on the lower side to prevent people falling.
To preserve the bridge, a damp-proof membrane has been put under the stones across the width of the bridge. Some people may have noticed the use of concrete during this part of the project – these stones had to be cemented back into place.
Recently the parapets were raised by one stone on the west and one stone plus the drip course on the east. The top layer of stones was taken out on the east and refitted, or replaced as necessary, due to the use of cement as mentioned above. This was done by local heritage-trained stone masons using matching local Hollington stone.
In terms of habitat, we had the Churnet Valley Living Landscape’s Woodland Advisor initially assess the site. She advised us to undertake tree thinning and brush removal. She helpfully selected what to keep and what to remove. If you are interested, in you may wish to read this article on the aims of local woodland management, written by the CVLLP and RSPB . While working on site, we have witnessed the improved species diversity in both flora and fauna along that section. Lilies and marsh marigolds were seen growing there in the spring, with mandarin ducks swimming under the bridge. From the canal’s perspective, the reduction in the number of trees has increased the amount of water in the canal (because there are not so many trees to drink it!). It is interesting to observe the loss of water in the canal every May; this happens every year when the trees wake up!
It will take a short while for nature to do her bit on and around the bridge. For the time being we need the lime mortar to settle down before we do anything further. The sides of the bridge deck will now be allowed to return to an appearance similar to how they were before we started, so the new-build appearance will soon soften. We may even look at taking steps to actively encourage this, but this has not yet been confirmed (look out for our requests for volunteer work parties).