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Stone Central specialises in all areas of stonemasonry and restoration from traditional stonemasonry through to new build and consultancy. Click the links to learn more about each area of our work and please get in touch to speak to one of our experienced team.

 STONEMASONRY RESTORATION CLEANING CONSULTANCY Memorials & Statues NEW BUILD RAILWAYS SURVEYS TERRACOTTA

Reveal the Roch

Rochdale council undertook a major project to reveal the River Roch, which had been hidden under Rochdale Town Centre for more than a century, along with its historic bridge.

Included in the reveal was the beautiful bridge, built in the medieval period which had expanded as the town grew, with sections dating back to the Regency, Georgian and Restoration periods.

By the early 1900s, the bridge and river had been covered over and had been hidden from view ever since. Thanks to the regeneration project, they are on display once again for all to enjoy.

The project has won:

  • Excellence in planning for the natural environment at the national RPTI awards
  • Outstanding project management in the Considerate Constructor Scheme awards
  • The Green Apple award for environmental good practice​

Project Detail

Stone Central were appointed to undergo works on this 800 year old medieval bridge. The works involved uncovering two sections of the river in Rochdale and the restoration of the 14th century stone bridge, to reduce flood risk and provide a new public space around the conservation area.

We worked with heritage conservation architects to ensure that all the works were in line with the heritage requirements. We carried out repairs to the surviving upstream and downstream arches and facings as well as constructing the new parapets at street level.

 

We used matching grit-stone masonry obtained from a nearby quarry, which was a likely source of the original bridge materials. This was then hand-dressed to match the existing one. The upstream and downstream cut-water piers were constructed in matching stone and have been shaped to minimise the effects of the fast-flowing river on the bridge itself. The design of the new work was based on bridges of a similar period and on an old illustration.

The works, once completed, not only reduced the flood risk and restored a beautiful piece of history to the town, but also allowed wildlife to thrive in and along the riverbanks.

You can see a time-lapse video  of the project here .

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