Canal Bridge Number 50 (Preston Hill Farm Bridge)

Canal Bridge Number 50, also known as Preston Hill Farm Bridge, is a split bridge built between 1812 and 1816, with restoration work carried out in the 1980s. It features brick abutments and walls, along with cast-iron rails and decks. The abutments support two cantilevered decks that have integral X-framed handrails and are designed to accommodate tow ropes. The splayed parapet walls are topped with brick copings, which were rebuilt in the 1980s. The South Stratford Canal, to which this bridge belongs, was constructed between 1793 and 1816 at a cost of £500,000. In 1960, 13.5 miles of the canal from Kingswood Junction, Lapworth to Stratford-upon-Avon was leased by the National Trust from the British Waterways Board for restoration, and the National Trust acquired the freehold around 1964.