New lift bridge at Lodgemoor - Cotswold Canals

[IanM]

It is infilled yes. But a large portion of the head of the lock on the towpath was blown up by workers building the M5. It was this explosion that alerted the landowner working in nearby fields, whose name temporarily escapes me, causing them to dash down to the lock and sit on the bridge thus saving that from a similar fate.

 

Westfield Bridge - Stroudwater Canal by Ian, on Flickr

[magpie patrick]

It is infilled yes. But a large portion of the head of the lock on the towpath was blown up by workers building the M5. It was this explosion that alerted the landowner working in nearby fields, whose name temporarily escapes me, causing them to dash down to the lock and sit on the bridge thus saving that from a similar fate.

 

Interesting - do you have any idea why? It's some distance from the M5 and, as demonstrated by the tale you relate, wasn't part of the works for the M5, otherwise the landowner would have had some idea what was happening.

 

The M5 itself is on an embankment of "granular fill" where it crosses the old canal route, the soils around the canal are quite soft so I'm not sure why the contractor even had explosives on site.

 

That said, I used to know a motorway works RE, he did spaghetti junction amongst others, and died about ten years ago. He told some tales of mischief so perhaps this was one such incidence. ETA he wasn't responsible for this length of motorway though!

Edited January 27, 2016 by magpie patrick

[IanM]

No one really knows why they were asked to demolish both the lock and bridge that far away from the motorway itself however the story goes that they were asked to clear the canal and its structures a mile each side.

 

The lady in question (Mrs Hersey I think her name was) is often quoted as saying that is what happened and I've seen her on a TV programme featuring the canals saying just that. At the time I would imagine that the canal and structures were still property of the Company Of Proprietors so maybe she didn't actually own the bridge, just the access over it. Who knows exactly what happened and what the arrangement was but the bridge is still there, as is the lock albeit with a piece missing

[PaulG]

No one really knows why they were asked to demolish both the lock and bridge that far away from the motorway itself however the story goes that they were asked to clear the canal and its structures a mile each side.

 

The lady in question (Mrs Hersey I think her name was) is often quoted as saying that is what happened and I've seen her on a TV programme featuring the canals saying just that. At the time I would imagine that the canal and structures were still property of the Company Of Proprietors so maybe she didn't actually own the bridge, just the access over it. Who knows exactly what happened and what the arrangement was but the bridge is still there, as is the lock albeit with a piece missing

It was indeed Caroline Hearsey.

 

Her daughter was recently involved in the press launch of the next phase of restoration.

 

http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/12957967.__15_million_canal_bid_launched/?ref=rl

[IanM]

Thanks Paul

 

I happened to approach Mrs Hearsey's granddaughter completely by accident when I was doing a questionnaire for my Geography GCSE in the early 1990s. She tried to call her grandmother to see if I could have gone and talked to her about it but unfortunately she wasn't in at the time and nothing more came of it. Shame really.

[Graham Davis]

I was a chainboy with Wimpey's on the section of the M5 construction that started just south of there, and went down to the Falfield junction, for a short time in 1972.

 

And for IanM, a friend of mine who then lived in Sharpness, and was a dumper driver there at the same time, now lives in Brantham!

We drink in Manningtree, often in The Red Lion.

[IanM]

I was a chainboy with Wimpey's on the section of the M5 construction that started just south of there, and went down to the Falfield junction, for a short time in 1972.

 

And for IanM, a friend of mine who then lived in Sharpness, and was a dumper driver there at the same time, now lives in Brantham!

We drink in Manningtree, often in The Red Lion.

There's very few evenings I'm not in the Lion!

[PaulG]

Lodgemoor seems to be finished, so here are some good pictures of a replacement bridge being built at Weymoor:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/98072539@N08/sets/72157639659403535

[keble]

Lodgemoor seems to be finished, so here are some good pictures of a replacement bridge being built at Weymoor:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/98072539@N08/sets/72157639659403535

Where is Weymoor? I feel I should know but Google maps doesn't help.

[PaulG]

Where is Weymoor? I feel I should know but Google maps doesn't help.

It's at Latton - there's more information here:

http://www.cotswoldcanals.com/pages/posts/weymoor-bridge-mdash-bridging-the-gap-850.php

and there's a "popup map" on this page:

http://www.cotswoldcanals.net/photo_page.php?idx=3810

[keble]

Thanks Paul. That website is way more informative than CCT's.

[PaulG]

Some interesting pictures (over 1000 of 'em!) of ongoing work at Wallbridge Lower Lock:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98072539@N08/sets/72157640836983824

[PaulG]

Some interesting video of dredging and piling operations on the canal channel between Wallbridge Upper Lock and Capels Mill

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpp7qjQh0Kc

 

There's more information about this section of canal here:

 

http://cotswoldcanals.com/cheapside-pound-dredging-piling-final-report/