Image: River Ivel Navigation old bridge at Holme - geograph.org.uk - 611712

Description: River Ivel Navigation old bridge at Holme A glance at the map in this square shows a bridge in Gothic text denoting an antiquity. This is the bridge in question, a cast iron structure with the date 1823, recording the year of the opening of the River Ivel Navigation upstream from Biggleswade to Shefford. The Navigation passed under this bridge and into a lock that enabled boats to bypass Holme Mills. The seatings in the stonework of the lock wall to receive the downstream lock gates can be seen on the left. The Navigation was formally abandoned in 1876 due to competition from the railways that made boats uneconomic. The Navigation had been built in the first place to bring coal to towns in the valley of the River Ivel via King's Lynn, with grain being taken in the opposite direction. The bridge now carries road traffic between Holme Mills and Broom.
Author: Nigel Cox
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License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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