Spiggots Bridge (Bridge no 80)

Summary

Bridge crossing the Montgomery Canal, around 1796.

Reasons for Designation

Spiggots Bridge (Bridge no 80) is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* dating from the 1790s, a period of pioneering canal building, and for which there is a presumption in favour of listing structures which retain a significant proportion of their historic fabric;
* a robust and well-constructed brick bridge which is largely unaltered and exemplifies the architectural character of the canal.

Historic interest:

* as part of the infrastructure of the Ellesmere Canal, constructed in the 1790s.

Group value:

* with the other listed structures along the canal.

History

Spiggots Bridge crosses the Llanmynech branch of the former Ellesmere Canal.

The Ellesmere Canal was first proposed in 1791, and was intended to link the mineral extraction industries of North Wales with Liverpool via Ellesmere Port, and the Midlands via Shrewsbury. The route was initially surveyed by John Duncombe (d.1810), with subsequent input from William Jessop (1745-1814). The Act for the new canal was passed in 1793, with Jessop and Duncombe, along with Thomas Denson and William Turner forming the original engineering staff. Thomas Telford (1757-1834) was appointed General Agent later that year. Construction was phased, with the northernmost section opened in 1795, with tolls used to fund further construction. The 12-mile Llanmynech branch, on which Spiggots Bridge stands, was opened the following year. Economic viability prevented completion of the route as planned.

A merger in 1813 formed the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company, and in 1845 a merger with the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal resulted in the formation of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. The canal south of Frankton Junction, including the Llanymynech branch, is now known as the Montgomery Canal. The northern section between Chester and Ellesmere Port is considered part of the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal.

Also known as Coed-y-Rae Bridge, and numbered 80, Spiggots Bridge provides vehicle access across the canal.

Details

Bridge crossing the Montgomery Canal, around 1796.

MATERIALS: red brick with stone copings.

PLAN: the bridge is orientated north-south, providing vehicle access across the canal.

EXTERIOR: a single segmental-arched bridge with a string course, a brick parapet with dressed coping stones, and corner piers.

Sources

Books and journals
Hadfield, C, The Canals of the West Midlands, (1966)
Skempton, A, A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers. Volume 1: 1500-1830, (2002), 194

Websites
No 80 Spiggots Bridge, Montgomery Canal, HER Number (PRN): 30858, Shropshire HER, accessed 24/04/2020 from https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MSA33721&resourceID=1015
Ellesmere Canal, Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, accessed 24/04/2020 from https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ellesmere_Canal

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry