Bridge Holes

• History

If you occasionally view our Bowcam page, you will probably have seen a few bridges like this:

Bridge on the Shropshire Union canal

Iron post

You may even have walked through a few if you have ever strolled alongside a canal. But – have you ever noticed these iron posts on the corner of the bridge?

Grooves worn in the post

Horses on the end of a long rope were used to pull early narrow barges. As they went through the bridge holes, the rope would rub against the corner of the bridge and wear the stone away. So, these posts were installed to reduce the damage. The grooves in the pillars are where the ropes have worn the iron away over the years. Some of the indentations are quite deep, which rather shows how effective they were. Click on the image for a bigger view to see the detail.

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