IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Thomas Street, COVENTRY, CV1 3HL

This canal bridge, made by Horseley Iron Works, was removed from near Sowe Common (SP3782) in the early 1970s during construction work for the M6, which at that point runs very close by the canal. It was installed here as a footbridge over the River Sherbourne. The flats and maisonettes nearby were built in the 1950s and 1960s to replace Victorian red-brick terraces. In 2009: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1182125

The lettering on the left of the arch reads 'Horseley Iron Works', the firm in Tipton which made several bridges like this for the Oxford canal. It was installed here as a footbridge over the river Sherbourne in the early 1970s after being removed from near Sowe Common (SP3782) during construction work for the M6, which at that point runs very close by the canal. The bridges were originally installed over redundant loops on the Oxford canal when it was straightened during the 19th century. Other examples can be seen at Braunston: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1170434; Newbold on Avon : http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/59373 and Cathiron: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/825458 and http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/457733 A 1974 view: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1182119 A scheduled monument (ID 1005883)

This is the point where the river Sherbourne passes under Meadow Street and begins its culverted journey under the city centre. The bridge is a former Oxford canal bridge made by Horseley Iron Works. The nearby flats and maisonettes were built in the 1950s and 1960s to replace Victorian red-brick terraces.

View from the bridge on Meadow Street. The river is channelled the other side into a concrete culvert which takes it under Coventry city centre.

This iron footbridge contrasts with the postwar buildings which surround it. The bridge, which dates from the 1830s, originally spanned the Oxford Canal. It was moved to its current location over the River Sherbourne in around 1969 or 1970. It is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

A single span, cast iron former canal bridge removed here from Sowe Common during construction work for the M6 in the early 1970s and now used as a footbridge over the river Sherbourne. Cast at Horseley Iron Works, Tipton. Beyond it is Meadow Street bridge. The building dominating the skyline is the GEC factory, formerly Rudge-Whitworth, which was demolished in 1991.

Taken in 1972, when the area had been recently re-landscaped. The footbridge is a former canal bridge, removed here from near Sowe Common during the building of the M6. Beyond is the Ringway Rudge section of the inner ring road and the furthest building on the left was the GEC factory, previously Rudge-Whitworth and now demolished. The spire is that of Greyfriars/Christ Church, one of Coventry's three spires.

The river disappears into a culvert here, and emerges on the far side of the city centre. I couldn't see what I was photographing, in fact, because the wall is taller than I am, so I just held the camera as high as I could and hoped for the best.

The trees are bare and the shadows are long, indicating that this image was taken on a winter's day.