| Bridge Name: | Tone Aqueduct | |||
| No.: | 76 A | |||
| Location: | 51.02278,-3.04132 | |||
| Build Date: | 1835 – 1837 | |||
| Engineer: | James Green or Sydney Hall | |||
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| Description: | ||||
| The Chard Canal ran from Creech St Michael to Chard, via Ilminster. James Green was appointed Engineer in 1831 but he was replaced by Sydney Hall before any substantial progress had been made. It is not known for certain which of them designed the aqueduct over the Tone near the Chard Canal’s junction with the B&TC at Creech St Michael, although the distinctive rounded cutwaters on the piers are similar to those that Green designed for many of his Devon bridges. The aqueduct has two 9m span brick arches and two 3.7m side spans; the piers and abutments are built of lias limestone, which was also used to face the elevations above springing level. Recent archaeological excavations revealed evidence that suggests the canal waterway was conveyed through a masonry trough, unlike the cast-iron troughs of the GWC aqueducts. The Chard Canal was finally opened in 1842, but railway competition soon took away its trade; it closed in 1868. | ||||
| References: | Bridges Along the Tone – SCC Highways | |||