Milford Bridge, No.105, North Of Home Farm, Milford

BERKSWICH

603/19/10022 STAFFORDSHIRE AND WORCESTERSHIRE CANAL 15-OCT-09 MILFORD Milford Bridge, No.105, North of Home Farm, Milford

II Canal accommodation bridge, No. 105. Late-C18 by canal engineer James Brindley for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

MATERIAL: Random bond brick with sandstone coping, though replaced in part with engineering brick.

DESCRIPTION: The bridge is ramped down to the towpath approach on the west side, and terminates in corner piers on the east side. It has a semi-elliptical arch, sandstone string course and plain parapets. The west and east faces each carry a cast-iron plaque bearing the name and number of the bridge. There appears to have been some minor repairs to the structure.

HISTORY: The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal was one of the earliest canals, constructed under an Act of 1766 and opened fully for traffic in 1772. Devised by James Brindley, the canal runs for 46½ miles between Great Haywood, where it joins the Trent & Mersey Canal (completed 1777) to Stourport where it connects with the River Severn. The canal forms one of the arms of Brindley's `Grand Cross', a scheme to link the Rivers Trent, Mersey, Thames and Severn, and was the first of the arms to be completed.

SOURCES: Victoria County History, A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 5: East Cuttlestone Hundred (1959) 1-11 J. Ian Langford, Towpath Guide for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (1974), 37-8

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Milford Bridge (No.105) on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Despite some minor repairs, it is good example of a substantially intact canal structure of c.1770 * It is considered to be one of the earliest examples of a turnover bridge in the country * It was designed by James Brindley, a noted navigation engineer * It is of historic interest in the context of both the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and as part of the national waterways system of the late C18