Bridge over the Roch revealed

Image: © Gerald England Taken: 22 Sep 2016

The bridge over the Roch at Rochdale was built in the medieval period and expanded as the town grew, with sections dating back to the Regency, Georgian and Restoration periods. By the end of the nineteenth century, industrialists had been pouring filth into the River Roch to the extent that it had become a lifeless stinking ditch. The river was covered over and tramlines laid in 1900. The Town Centre stretch was briefly exposed, together with part of the old bridge, when remedial work had to be done in 1996 Image, but it was covered over again then when the work was completed. Plans to uncover two sections of the river and expose the historic bridge were drawn up in 2014. The work was finally completed in 2016.

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