Description:Locally known as Milking Bank Bridge, this is Bridge 61 on the Trent and Mersey Canal near Armitage, currently officially designated as Church Bridge. According the 1842 Tithe Map it was originally known as Chantry Bridge and the field over the bridge going up towards the church and farm house was named as 'Milking Bank and Piggeries', occupied by John Scott. The portion of land immediately to the right of the bridge is described as 'Abutment to Chantry Bridge' and was owned by the Trent and Mersey Canal Company. It is likely that the purpose of this bridge was to give access to fields abutting the River Trent which were also occupied by John Scott at this time.
Beyond can be seen St. John the Baptist Church and Church Farm. This stretch of the Trent and Mersey Canal was engineered by James Brindley and opened in 1770.
This picture is from an album of photographs taken by Thomas Harvey Boycott (1876-1949) who lived with his widowed mother, Fanny Maria, whose family had lived at Handsacre Hall as farmers, together with his unmarried aunt, Sarah Elizabeth Harvey. Harvey was a Clerk at Lichfield District Probate Court and a skilled amateur photographer. The album was a parting gift from Harvey and his mother to the Rev. R.E. Grice-Hutchinson (1885-1976) who was Curate of Armitage with Pipe Ridware 1909-1913.