Broken Back Bridge
Bridge number 93 on the Lancaster Canal is located in Deep Cutting and carries an access road from the Lancaster - Cockerham Road, to fields East of the canal. As originally constructed, to a design by John Rennie, the bridge was known as Carr Lane Bridge. Today it is called Broken Back Bridge.
Why did the name change?
As can be seen from this illustration, the bridge today has a part stone, part railed parapet. It is tempting to conclude that this arrangement, which is unusual for a high level canal bridge, gave rise to the name Broken Back. Investigations have shown that this theory is not tenable. A number of sources, e.g. old postcards and pictures, reveal that bridge 93 originally had an intact parapet made of stone as can be seen from the second drawing. Some of these illustrations bear the inscription Broken Back Bridge. Thus the name Broken Back predates the present structure.
Further research has shown that the reconstruction of the bridge took place in 1893. A note in an archived scrapbook gives an extract, dated 25th July 1893, from a report by Mr J. Slinger (Aldcliffe Depot) to the Northern Committee:- "The battlements of Carr Lane (Broken Back) Bridge, Nr Lancaster, have been raised about 3 feet in stone and iron for public safety. The old parapet walls were only a few inches above the roadway, and traffic over the bridge has lately increased".
A careful search of available sources has revealed no substantial explanation for the name Broken Back. In the absence of an explanation it is possible to speculate that the original bridge would have had an unusual appearance. The bridge's location in Deep Cutting meant that the access road descended steeply on each side, and the original bridge had a strongly concave shape. Perhaps this bowed appearance made people think it was broken backed.