The Edstone Aqueduct, geograph 6670947 by Richard Rogerson

Edstone Aqueduct is one of three aqueducts on a length of the

Stratford-upon-Avon Canal The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England. The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. All are unusual in that the towpaths are at the level of the canal bottom. At , ''Edstone'' is the longest cast iron aqueduct in England. It crosses a minor road, a stream, and a field, a railway line (the

North Warwickshire Line The North Warwickshire Line (also known as the Shakespeare Line) is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It runs from Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, now the southern terminus of the line, a ...

) and the trackbed of the disused Alcester branch line. There was once a pipe from the side of the canal that enabled

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s to draw water to fill their tanks. The aqueduct was completed in 1816 and is an early example of a

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

structure. Its

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

trough is formed of 35 separate sections bolted together, which sits on thirteen brick piers, creating 14 spans. The trough is wide, and deep. The towpath is set level with the base of the trough, which is a somewhat unusual design feature. The aqueduct is a Grade II* listed structure. File:Edstone Aqueduct in Warwickshire, geograph 4723831 by Mat Fascione.jpg, Edstone Aqueduct, from the top File:Edstone Aqueduct, Stratford Canal, Warwickshire.jpg, Edstone Aqueduct From South.

Bearley Bearley is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The village is about five miles (8 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon, bounded on the north by Wootton Wawen, on the east by Snitterfield, an ...

Lock in the distance. April 2012 File:Railway_line_passing_under_Edstone_Aqueduct_-_geograph.org.uk_-_724962.jpg, The railway line passing under the aqueduct.

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Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Navigable aqueducts in England Buildings and structures in Warwickshire Bridges in Warwickshire Grade II* listed bridges in England Grade II* listed buildings in Warwickshire Cast iron aqueducts {{UK-bridge-struct-stub

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