Coventry Canal Bridge 75, Purpose of the built in "chamber"?

[Richard Plester]

English heritage describes this grade II listed structure as having an "abutment to west pierced by small round-vaulted tunnel". Decent picture of it here..

http://canalplan.org.uk/photos/normal/i/im_jin.jpg

(Copyright cankay.org.uk)

 

Anyone know what the history and purpose of chambers such as this is? It has a hatch one side and what looks like a ventilation slot the other, graffiti on the hatch reads "Tea Room", though I wish this was true I doubt it ever has been

[IanM]

They're for storing Stop-planks in.

[bottle]

yep. agree with that.

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

The weight of the buttress can pop the top of the arch, so to make the buttress lighter they put a void in.

[IanM]

The weight of the buttress can pop the top of the arch, so to make the buttress lighter they put a void in.

 

Nope, definitely for storing stop planks in.

[RLWP]

Isn't it one of the entrances to hell?

 

Richard

[lydfordcastle]

Isn't it one of the entrances to hell?

 

Richard

 

Or perhaps the Stairway to Heaven?

[Pluto]

The weight of the buttress can pop the top of the arch, so to make the buttress lighter they put a void in.

This is what you are thinking of, Marple Aqueduct being the example here:

[Laurence Hogg]

Definatly stop planks, common on many canals.

[StephenA]

Same question was asked in the discussion area for that bridge a few days ago:

 

http://canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?do=showdiscussion&id=d7i6

[MtB]

Surely it's for the trolls to live in?

 

 

Mtb

[Barry]

 

Or perhaps the Stairway to Heaven?

 

 

Surely it's for the trolls to live in?

 

 

Mtb

 

Neither

 

Its where Miss Givvens lives

[Athy]

This is what you are thinking of, Marple Aqueduct being the example here:

Those are perforated spandrels, indeed a weight-saving device.

 

I thought a spandrel was a long-eared dog until I discovered Smirnoff.

[bigste]

I would have said stop planks but no matter how hard I look I can't see the slots for the planks under the bridge.

[bottle]

The slots may not be there but somewhere else along the canal.

 

That is just a secure place to store them.

[X Alan W]

Definitely for stop planks I was asked by the fore man at Hartshill yard if I would drop of 2 new planks there to the BW gang working at the bridge, as I was going in that direction, 1966 IIRC,again IIRC; the stop groves are at the next bridge hole in the Fradley direction, or they were those years ago.

[Heartland]

The English Heritage listing credits the bridge to contractor Thomas Sheasby, which is consistent with canal records and is one of a group of listed bridges in this area. That this bridge has a tunnel chamber must be also linked to its location near Kettlebrook. South of this bridge the canal curves to cross the river Tame by an aqueduct. The reason for storing stop planks here would appear a sound one and I concur with all those others who said it was a stop plank store instead of structural reason.

 

Ray Shill