Bridges - 24 Mytchett Place Canal Bridge

This bridge was one of only two on the canal which used dressed Sarsen stone in its construction. All the other arched bridges were brick built. (The other bridge built with dressed stone is Guildford Road Bridge a little further down the canal).     The original bridge was built, like most of the brick-arch bridges along the canal, to the 100ft line technique when the canal was constructed towards the end of the 18th century (about 1790). It carries a road which provides a link over the canal between Mytchett and Pirbright.     In 1878 when the single track Frimley to Ash Vale railway was built alongside the canal, a bridge to carry the road over the railway was added to the existing structure. (The canal bridge is on the right).     Although the railway bridge was built to accomodate two tracks, the line has remained single track.     Like the Guildford Road Bridge a little further down the canal, the brick arch barrel had been demolished by the Army and replaced with steel joists and a concrete overslab.     When the first set of drawings were issued for the proposed rebuilding, both the Canal Society and the Canal Authority raised objections to major items of the proposal and several revisions were made. Also discussions were held with the county engineers to ensure that the 100ft line technique would be used in the bridge reconstruction.     An interesting feature of this bridge, which happily has been retained in the reconstruction, is a recess under the arch, on the non-towpath side. It is thought that this was for a stop gate in the event of a flood.     The £370,000 contract to reconstruct the bridge was awarded to Mowlem Southern Civil Engineering and involved its partial demolition and widening, with extensive underpinning to the foundations.

THE 100ft LINE Many of the original brick-arch bridges on the canal were built using this technique. Full details

An accurate geometrical survey was carried out prior to demolition, together with stone by stone and photographic records. This was to ensure that the bridge was rebuilt to give the appearance of the original, using both the stone from the existing bridge and some new stone cut and dressed from original Sarsen stone donated by the Ministry of Defence after recovery from the Princess Royal Barracks at Blackdown. Sarsen stone is an unusually hard type of sandstone and the contractor subcontracted stonemasons from Chichester Cathedral to do the stonework.     A sheet piled coffer dam allowed access to carry out the underpinning and other works to the canal bed.     The brick arch barrel was saddled in mass concrete and brick parapets infilled with reinforced concrete to meet modern day loading requirements.     During the work a temporary footbridge and staircase based on scaffolding were built alongside.

The completed structure included an oak staircase to provide access from the bridge to the canal towpath, which replaced the previous somewhat unsightly and separate footbridge alongside the road bridge.     The formal opening of the reconstructed bridge took place on 3 June 1994 by Mrs Cecilia Gerrard DL, Chairman of Surrey County Council. The plaque on the bridge parapet commemorates the reconstruction.     The reconstructed Mytchett Place Canal Bridge shortly after completion in 1994.   BACK

Last updated December 2001