Rolling Bridge Over Ulverston Canal and Associated Accumulator Tower

The Rolling Bridge over Ulverston Canal and its associated Accumulator Tower are a late 20th-century railway bridge and ancillary structure. The bridge’s design is notable for its unusual movable section.

The bridge itself is constructed of iron and steel. It comprises three sections, two of which are fixed and positioned projecting into the canal from the north and south banks. The central section was formerly a moveable framework, now fixed, supported by metal piles sunk into the canal bed. Railings and fencing run along the edges of the bridge, and a metal-floored pedestrian walkway is situated along the west side. Remnants of wooden marker piles and rubbing strakes remain in the canal, which were formerly used to guide boats. The infilled dock is situated immediately to the south.

The Accumulator Tower, built of brick with sandstone dressings and a slate roof, stands close to the south bank of the canal, to the east of the bridge. It is a square building of two main storeys, with a taller upper storey. Doorways are present in the north and south walls. The ground floor east wall features two narrow, segmental arched, blocked windows positioned above an elongated sandstone lintel. The upper floor has pairs of tall, narrow ventilation slots with single stone lintels on all elevations except the west, and three similar ventilation slots are visible at gable height on the north elevation. Stone copings finish the north elevation, while a stone lintel at gable height on the south elevation shows evidence of former ventilation slots, though some brickwork has fallen away.

Inside, all machinery has been removed. Timber beams support a stone floor on the first floor. A timber ladder provides access from the ground floor to the first floor through a square hole in the floor. The upper floor is open to roof height, and a broad timber beam runs the full length of the building just below the roof apex.