Ham Mill Bridge and the adjacent lock have been fully restored by Cotswold Canals Trust volunteers, with a new towpath ramp being added in 2020.
Construction
This a standard canal company pattern brick-built accommodation bridge across the tail of, and contemporary with, Ham Mill Lock. The bricks are handmade and of a dark red colour, laid to a fairly regular English Garden Wall bond. The bridge has a segmental arch springing from wedge-shaped stone springers and is protected by a simple projecting brick drip mould.
The wing walls are built with an inward ‘batter’ and curve outwards from the arch to end in pilaster terminals.
The parapet brickwork is contiguous with that of the wing walls and spandrels rather than being of a separate construction. The parapet is level over the arch and then slopes gently down in a straight line on the towpath side to the end of the wing walls, but on the off-side the terrain means that the parapet rises slightly; it is topped by a plain stone coping.
The parapet has been repaired and other parts of the brickwork have been patched, but the original structure remains substantially intact.
(Tap / click images to enlarge)
