Unsliven Bridge, Stocksbridge

Single-span road-bridge built about 1730 and widened twice, the last occasion in 1796.

MATERIALS: gritstone.

PLAN: rectangular, single-span with splayed abutments.

Single-span, segmental arched bridge, with the three phases of construction, clearly visible in the soffit of the arch. The original phase of construction (believed c1730) is represented by the east (down-stream) elevation, which is built using coursed quarry-faced gritstone blocks. The arch has voussoirs with tooled haunches, a projecting keystone and keyed springing blocks. The spandrels rise to a projecting string course with triple bullnose mouldings, which carry the parapet wall that has keyed coping stones and terminates at either end in projecting rectangular-plan stone piers, capped by cushion cap stones. The blocks forming the piers in the parapet wall have matching, but less defined tooled triple bullnose moulding. The south abutment is splayed, while the north abutment is straight and pierced by a blocked ancillary flood arch, with quarry-faced voussoirs. The soffit of the east arch has a projecting crown spine and keystones. The west (up-stream) elevation and the soffits of both the west and central arches are built of coursed finely tooled gritstone blocks, the arch is built of squared voussoirs and the crown lacks a keystone. A string course carries the parapet wall that is splayed at each end, it has butt-jointed coping stones and terminates to the south end in a slightly projecting rectangular pier with a shallow cushion capstone. A low rounded stone bollard is situated against the base of the parapet wall. The coping of the parapet wall is inscribed: JOHN / 1796. The north end of the parapet wall was altered in 1805 by the addition of a splayed wing wall, which rise off a secondary string course that projects beyond the line of the spandrel and onto a secondary quarry-faced stone abutment. Both of the west abutments are largely obscured by the Underbank Reservoir over-flow channel walls. Tarmacadam road surface.