Plaque

Blow-up bridge

Blow-up bridge Blow-up bridge
Inscription

'Blow-up' bridge
At 3am on 2 October 1874, the boat 'Tilbury', carrying gunpowder to a quarry in the Midlands, exploded, demolishing the bridge and killing three people. Locals sprang from their beds, fearing an earthquake.

When the bridge was rebuilt, they turned the pillers around so that they offered a smooth surface for boats' towing ropes. Look out for the rope grooves on both sides of the pillars.

{The picture is captioned:}
1874 A newspaper illustration of the Macclesfield Bridge explosion
{and credited:}
Etching: The London Illustrated News Picture Library 

The Regents Canal
British Waterways London
Heritage Lottery Fund

Site: Blow-up bridge (1 memorial)

NW1, towpath

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Blow-up bridge

Subjects commemorated i

Macclesfield Bridge explosion

From London Gardens Trust: "The bridge over the Regent's Canal to the north w...

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This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Blow-up bridge

Created by i

Heritage Lottery Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund (rebranded 2019), formerly the Heritage Lo...

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