Hi all, with the help of a couple of other people I have of late been doing a bit of research on the 'cattle bridge' in the Optimus Prime culvert. There's a lot of misinformation about this structure.
For a start, it is a certainty that the bridge existed no earlier than the nineteenth century; indeed, it isn't a cattle bridge. It is worth remembering that, before this time, the surface of Manchester wasn't at that level; it wasn't much higher than the banks of the river at this point, in fact
The Irk at Walkers Croft was banked by the Grammar School Mills. The 'cattle bridge' which existed at this point (it is doubtful it was anything more than a simple thoroughfare) was reached by walking down Todd Street and then onto Mill Brow. It was very close to the surface of the water, and a crossing has existed on this site since Medieval times.
When Victoria station was built as Hunts Bank, this bridge was repurposed as the main entrance point to the station from the east. While it no longer exists, one is able to easily trace its route - simply walk down Todd Street and onto Victoria Approach, it would've been directly below your feet.
The bridge that exists today is slightly further north than this, positioned beneath the station's frontage. It dates from between the completion of Corporation Street, and the culverting of the Irk. As such, it is doubtful that it appears on any map from the time; from what I can tell, it was not on the surface for too long! This bridge's sole purpose was for access to the station from Corporation Street, and was likely accessed from the bottom of Howarths Gates, past the Mills mentioned earlier.
The bridge in the background is the so-called 'cattle bridge'. You will note I am sure that it doesn't look completely identical - close analysis of the bridge today reveals that the bowed floor is a later addition: the iron framework (which also serves to date it) only covers this part of it, whereas the original structure looks to have been held up by timber. No doubt its sides only reached up to torso height, and that the addition of the bowed base not only serves to support the bridge within the confines of the tunnel, but to lower it to allow passage beneath the roof of the culvert.
I have access to Digimap through my university and I am working on a very high-res overlay - if anyone's interested in this, drop me a line.
For a start, it is a certainty that the bridge existed no earlier than the nineteenth century; indeed, it isn't a cattle bridge. It is worth remembering that, before this time, the surface of Manchester wasn't at that level; it wasn't much higher than the banks of the river at this point, in fact
The Irk at Walkers Croft was banked by the Grammar School Mills. The 'cattle bridge' which existed at this point (it is doubtful it was anything more than a simple thoroughfare) was reached by walking down Todd Street and then onto Mill Brow. It was very close to the surface of the water, and a crossing has existed on this site since Medieval times.
When Victoria station was built as Hunts Bank, this bridge was repurposed as the main entrance point to the station from the east. While it no longer exists, one is able to easily trace its route - simply walk down Todd Street and onto Victoria Approach, it would've been directly below your feet.
The bridge that exists today is slightly further north than this, positioned beneath the station's frontage. It dates from between the completion of Corporation Street, and the culverting of the Irk. As such, it is doubtful that it appears on any map from the time; from what I can tell, it was not on the surface for too long! This bridge's sole purpose was for access to the station from Corporation Street, and was likely accessed from the bottom of Howarths Gates, past the Mills mentioned earlier.
The bridge in the background is the so-called 'cattle bridge'. You will note I am sure that it doesn't look completely identical - close analysis of the bridge today reveals that the bowed floor is a later addition: the iron framework (which also serves to date it) only covers this part of it, whereas the original structure looks to have been held up by timber. No doubt its sides only reached up to torso height, and that the addition of the bowed base not only serves to support the bridge within the confines of the tunnel, but to lower it to allow passage beneath the roof of the culvert.
I have access to Digimap through my university and I am working on a very high-res overlay - if anyone's interested in this, drop me a line.