Barnsley Canal Blue Bridge

The Barnsley Canal Blue Bridge is an accommodation bridge built in the late 18th century. It is constructed from hammer-dressed stone, with part of the parapet rendered. The bridge features a single horse-shoe elliptical arch that is reinforced with heavily-grooved metal plates on the south side to protect the angle from wear caused by tow ropes. On the north side, there is a vertical narrow groove set in the middle of the intrados, rising from a horizontal segmental-arched shallow recess near the water's edge, which may have once supported a sluice gate. The bridge has splayed retaining walls and a band and parapet that end in square piers at both ends. The Barnsley Canal was authorized by an act passed in 1793 and was constructed between 1793 and 1799, with William Jessop serving as the consulting engineer and Samuel Hartley as the resident engineer.