Bridges: masonry and brick
Bridges come in all shapes and sizes – usually dependent upon the wealth of the landowner whose fields the canal cut across.
An act of parliament stated that no person should be inconvenienced by the building of the canals, and therefore whenever a waterway crossed fields, farmland or existing roads, the canal owner should restore full access.
Consequently, simple accommodation bridges linking two fields are common sights along the canals. More elaborate structures were erected when the canals cut through affluent country estates.
The favour of wealthy landowners was commonly courted in the days of ‘canal mania’, and the grand masonry bridges dotting the canal system today are a lasting benefit of this social nicety.
In the case of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, crossing the River Avon at Bristol, we are lucky that Brunel’s design was subject to the wishes of the local gentry. The great engineer’s original plans were altered so that the bridge would be wide enough to accommodate a horse and carriage. If it were not for this intervention, the bridge today would be impassable by car.
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