Barton Swing Aqueduct

Barton Swing Aqueduct
Barton Swing Aqueduct
	The aqueduct in the closed position
Coordinates	53°28′29″N 2°21′08″W / 53.4748°N 2.3521°W
OS grid reference	SJ767976
Carries	Bridgewater Canal
Crosses	Manchester Ship Canal
Locale	Barton upon Irwell
Characteristics
Total length	330 feet (101 m)
Traversable?	Only narrowboats
Towpaths	None
No. of spans	Two (Central Pivot)
History
Designer	Sir Edward Leader Williams
Construction end	1893
Opened	1894
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Barton Bridge, Barton Aqueduct and Control Tower
Designated	29 June 1987
Reference no.	1356522
Location

The Barton Swing Aqueduct is a moveable navigable aqueduct in Barton upon Irwell, Greater Manchester, England. It carries the Bridgewater Canal across the Manchester Ship Canal. The swinging action allows large vessels using the ship canal to pass through and smaller craft, both narrowboats and broad-beam barges, to cross over the top. The aqueduct, the first and only swing aqueduct in the world,^[1] is a Grade II* listed building,^[2] and considered a major feat of Victorian civil engineering.^[2]^[3] Designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams and built by Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby, the swing bridge opened in 1894 and remains in regular use.^[4]

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^ "Barton Swing Aqueduct". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 28 January 2017.