High Street Bridge Over Huddersfield Narrow Canal - Uppermill, Yorkshire, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 32.723 W 002° 00.509
30U E 565698 N 5933399
This road bridge carries High Street over the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and had to be rebuilt in 2001 when the canal was re-opened.
Waymark Code: WMH10F
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/04/2013
Views: 10
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal originally opened in 1811 to carry goods across the Pennine Hills between Huddersfield and Ashton-Under-Lyne.
Competition from railways and roads resulted in the canal being closed in 1944.
During the 1960s and 1970s many people became interested in using the canals for leisure and after a number of campaigns work was started restoring various abandoned canals.
Between 1944 and the reopening of this canal, High Street in Uppermill had been widened and part of the canal filled in. In the year 2000 work started to clear out the infill and the pedestrian walkway had to be extended and widened. On one side of the road a canal lock was next to the bridge and this was kept as it was. At the other side of the road the bridge was extended out from the road with a viewing platform next to the road for pedestrians.
This work was completed in 2001 and the bridge was re-opened on 18th May.
The plaque on the bridge reads ...
High Street Bridge
Opened by the Mayor of Oldham,
Councillor Christine Wheeler, on 18th May 2001
as part of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Restoration
Christine Wheeler served as a Liberal Democrat councillor for 23 years between 1988 and 2011. She was the Mayor of the nearby town of Oldham at the time of the opening of the bridge.
After she retired as councillor in 2011 she and another long serving councillor were made honorary Alderman in recognition of their long service. This honour has only been awarded five times previously. The Council leader said of her “Christine was one of the best informed, most conscientious and well respected members. During her working life as a nurse and her public life as a councillor, Christine was always helping people.
“Thanks to her work on the Adoption Panel hundreds of children across the borough have benefited from her dedicated service in settling adopted children into suitable families.
“Christine’s life has, and continues to be, one of service to anyone in need. She richly deserves to be made an Honorary Alderman.”
According to Wikipedia an
Alderman "is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.
The title is derived from the Old English title of ealdorman, literally meaning "elder man", and was used by the chief nobles presiding over shires."