Two bridges spanning the River Spodden, Mellor Street, Rochdale

The two road bridges spanning the River Spodden on Mellor Street in Rochdale were built between 1904 and 1905 by Samuel Sydney Platt, the Borough Engineer of Rochdale, in collaboration with L.G. Mouchel and Partners. The construction was carried out by Yorkshire Hennebique Contracting Co. Ltd. of Leeds. These bridges are made of ferro-concrete and feature Stanicliffe sandstone parapets sourced from quarries near Rowsley, Derbyshire.

The bridges are shallow-arched and skewed, designed to carry Mellor Street over a bend in the river. The abutments, slab arches, and battered buttresses are constructed from reinforced concrete. At a later date, the original concrete was sprayed with concrete render, which has since been partially removed. The sandstone parapets have chamfered plinths and are punctuated with vertical rectangular, chamfered openings, topped with chamfered coping stones. Each parapet is flanked by panelled rectangular piers that have chamfered plinths and deeply chamfered cap stones. Notably, the right-hand pier of the east parapet on the south-east bridge bears a mason's mark. Additionally, the south-east bridge features short stone walls on the outer sides of the piers, which also have chamfered plinths and flat coping stones. The north-west bridge has similar short stone walls, although these lack cap stones, except for the right-hand pier of the west parapet, where the stone blocks return. An iron strap protruding from the stonework indicates that there may have been a gateway or an earlier fence in place of the current modern fence.

The brick walls and metal fencing that adjoin the stone parapets of the bridges are later additions and are not part of the original construction, thus they are not of special interest.