Bridge Number 70 Wems Bridge

Bridge Number 70, also known as Wems Bridge, is a canal bridge built around 1830, designed by engineers Thomas Telford and Alexander Easton. The bridge is constructed of limewashed red brick, featuring some blue brick dressings. It has an elliptical arch and a humped-back shape, with a chamfered stone string course and a parapet that includes square end piers and rounded stone coping. The abutments are slightly battered and curved. On the towpath side, there are cast-iron corner posts showing grooves from rope haulage, and an oval cast-iron number plate is located on the south side. This section of the canal was part of the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which was authorized by an act in 1826 and opened in 1835. It was absorbed by the Ellesmere and Chester Canal in 1845 and later became part of the Shropshire Union Canal in 1846. The bridge spans the canal below the fourth lock in the Adderley flight.