13th November 1943 ED
CYCLING
Bridges over the Trent
When we speak of the Trent Valley, we usually have in mind that part lying within a day’s ride, somewhere east of Rugeley, Wychnor or Catton Hall Park—but there is also a very fine, and most interesting section west by north of Rugeley which deserves many visits.
Distance will not permit of loitering along by-ways in this case. So this itinerary will be almost exclusively main road, a circumstance not giving rise to any qualms in these days of restricted motor traffic.
Taking our starting point as the Chester-road, Erdington, we can follow the main road through Sutton Coldfield to Lichfield (11 miles).
The next stage is to Rugeley (8). We leave Lichfield by Bird-street, passing the Memorial Gardens and Cathedral Close and, continuing up Beacon-street, eventually reach the top of Constitution-hill.
Here you have a choice of a hilly or flat road to Rugeley.
The latter is the easier, so we turn right and proceed through Armitage, at which point the River Trent is only a quarter-mile on our right, though we shall see nothing of it until, two miles beyond Rugeley, following the main Stafford-road, we come to Wolseley Bridge.
Road widening, some years ago, greatly enhanced the view of this handsome structure, which was designed by John Rennie, the famous civil engineer. The Wolseley estate—the hall is close by—has been in the possession of the Wolseley family since Saxon Times.
At this point we leave the Stafford-road, cross the bridge and the Trent, and continue by the Manchester-road through Colwich, Little Haywood, and Great Haywood.
Here it will be well worth our time to spare a few minutes for the Essex Bridge, a very narrow structure of many arches and “refuges.”
Accounts differ as to when, and by whom, this remarkable bridge was built. One says the local authority did the job out of the ratepayers’ money. According to another, it was built by an Earl of Essex, then living at Chartley Castle, not far away, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, that there were originally 42 arches (only 14 remain), and that it was to afford an easy passage across the river and its marshes on the way to Cannock Chase, where the Earl was fond of hunting.
The bridge is reached by turning left in the “corner” of the village.
Beyond Great Haywood we lose sight of the Trent, now within half-a-mile on our left, on our way to Weston (8) where the river is spanned by another fine bridge at the foot of Weston Bank.
We shall have to make a half-mile divergence from our route, turning left at the cross-roads, to see it.
Returning to the cross-roads, we turn left and continue by the Manchester-road to Sandon. The river again comes into view as we pass by Sandon Park and Hall, the home of the Earl of Harrowby, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.
The history of Sandon goes back to Saxon times, too. It was once the property of William the Conqueror, who passed it on to one of his favourites, “Fat” Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester.
Sandon Church contains many interesting monuments, chiefly those of the Erdeswicks, who owned the manor for centuries and to one of whom, Sampson Erdeswick, we are largely indebted for the history of the county.
It is said that he designed his own tomb and partly built it!
Turning left, we cross the railway by the station, then the river, and climb Sandon Bank. On the second hill-top we turn left, over the railway, and follow a secondary road across Hopton Heath. At least, it was a heath in 1643, when a battle was fought here between the Royalists and the Roundheads, the latter getting much the worst of the fight.
Some of the killed were buried at Sandon and Weston.
A mile or so over the heath we shall come to the main road and turn right down Berry Hill. Another mile brings us to fork roads where we go left and soon come to the River Sow, close by a farm which incorporates some scanty ruins of St. Thomas Priory.
Over we river we go on to Weeping Cross, and keep straight on for Cannock (16), a fine road with Cannock Chase rising on the left and Teddesley Park (Lord Hatherton) on the right.
From Cannock Market Square we follow the Walsall road to Churchbridge, then turn left along the Watling Street as far as Brownhills Common, then fork right and conclude our ride with the Chester-road, through Brownhllls and Stonnall, back to Erdington (16) The total round makes 59 miles.
Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD
