Dutton Horse Bridge
| Dutton Horse Bridge | |
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Dutton Horse Bridge
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| Coordinates | 53°17′10″N 2°37′30″W / 53.2860°N 2.6251°WCoordinates: 53°17′10″N 2°37′30″W / 53.2860°N 2.6251°W |
| Crosses | River Weaver |
| Locale | Acton Bridge, Cheshire |
| Official name | Dutton Lower Horse Bridge |
| Other name(s) | Lower Dutton Horse Bridge |
| Heritage status | Grade II listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | John Arthur Saner |
| History | |
| Opened | 1919 |
Dutton Horse Bridge is a timber twin-span footbridge across part of the Weaver navigation, near the villages of Acton Bridge and Dutton in Cheshire, England. The bridge is located at SJ 583 767, between the Dutton Locks and Dutton Viaduct. It carries the towpath across a subsidiary channel used to regulate the water level, at the point where it rejoins the main river.
The bridge dates from 1915–1919 and is by John Arthur Saner. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building; the listing describes it as "an elegant structure in the functional waterways tradition". The bridge is one of the earliest remaining examples of a laminated timber structure, and is also believed to be the sole laminated greenheart timber bridge in the country.
J.A. Saner, the bridge's designer, was chief engineer to the Weaver Navigation Trust from 1888 to 1934. He was responsible for many other innovative structures on the Weaver, including Northwich's Hayhurst Bridge and Town Bridge of 1899, believed to be the two earliest electrically operated swing bridges in Britain, as well as the electrification of the Anderton Boat Lift. Work on Dutton Horse Bridge commenced in 1915 (engineering drawings from that date were archived by British Waterways), and was completed in June 1919. The bridge was renovated in the 1990s, when some of the submerged greenheart timber was found to be still intact.
The bridge is constructed predominantly of greenheart timber. It has two spans, one of 100 ft 7 in (30.7 m) and the other of 101 ft 7 in (31.0 m). Each span consists of paired semi-elliptical timber arches of mechanically laminated timber, strengthened with triangulated timber struts, which also support the platform. The paired arches are braced by cast-iron struts.
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