Bridge No.86

997/0/10457 GRAND UNION CANAL 19-MAR-08 Bridge No.86

II Canal bridge spanning the Grand Union Canal of late C18. Red brick, mostly in English bond, bridge with elliptical arch. The approaches of the bridge are splayed and marked by square end piers. The northern arch ring has been replaced by protruding concrete voussoirs, whilst the southern arch is formed by original brickwork. The lower parts of the parapet are original with modern brick above topped by concrete coping slabs. A small partly blocked rectangular recess above the northern arch at parapet level may have originally been built by the fire service to provide access to the canal for their hoses. Four vertical posts placed on the roadway at the eastern end of the bridge prevent vehicular use. The modern brick built revetment to the eastern access causeway is of no architectural significance.

HISTORY Towards the end of the C18, during the hey day of canal building, the Warwick and Birmingham Canal was cut through Acocks Green. The Warwick and Birmingham Canal became part of the Regent's Canal in 1927 and two years later was incorporated into the Grand Union Canal. The bridge over the canal is considered to have been erected at this time to carry a minor road, which by the end of the C19, was reduced to a footpath for much of its length. Despite considerable urbanisation of the area surrounding the bridge throughout the C20, the bridge did not form part of any major vehicular route and indeed by 1954 posts placed across the north eastern access road would have prevented it being used for through journeys by vehicles.

SOURCES: http://birmingham.gov.uk/printer/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=2528&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=260 Accessed 24th October 2007 http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/ Accessed 24th October 2007-10-29

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION Bridge No. 86 on the Grand Union Canal is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * The bridge, dating to the late 1790s, is in its original form with some repairs * The bridge is of architectural interest in the context of the Grand Union Canal and the wider Birmingham canal network * The bridge is of historic interest as part of the national waterways system of the late C18. * The bridge spans a canal cutting and represents a relatively rare survival within Birmingham