I have a couple of sets of my own photographs for October and November but this month, pictures taken by Nick Anderson which raised enough questions to produce a report. Meanwhile, my general health is deteriorating.
Bridge 175 is here. This simple little bridge is typical of John Rennie’s efforts. A slightly closer look is worthwhile.
The bridge is of ashlar throughout. The arch is three-centred to provide headroom, at one side for the horses and at the other for the barges.
This image shows the tightly coursed stonework in the arch. The quality of the stone is clear from the tooling marks still sharp after 200 years of weathering.
That looks awfully like cement mortar re-pointing. If so, it will cause untold damage in the coming years.
The real interest here, though, is this damage.
What I think has happened is that the right hand (tow path) side abutment and the arch has been forced to articulate at the top of the backing, flaking the edge off the arch. To be certain, a more detailed survey would be needed. The most important lesson, though, is that the root cause of the damage is many metres away from where it has manifested.
This was written in a hospital bed. I have been here ten days. The cancer squashed my duodenum. They have put in a stent but it isn’t very big. I may be on liquid food from here in. Whether this year’s BoMs will be completed is a moot point at this stage.