Camden’s Dead Dog Bridge to enjoy spring facelift

A ten-week repair project of Dead Dog Bridge will begin Jan 2023. The work, budgeted at £533,000, will be carried out by the Canal & River Trust.

Built in 1846 the historic Regent’s Canal bridge, known less colloquially as the Grade II listed Interchange Basin Towpath Bridge, is an important local landmark carrying the canal’s towpath across the canal basin beneath the Camden Interchange Warehouse. An area of that’s nicknamed Dead Dog Tunnel (see below).

The bridge repairs have been enabled by an award from Postcode Earth Trust thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The work will include repairs to the bridge’s wrought iron lattice parapets; cleaning of the underlying cast iron beams; and cleaning and repointing the abutments and approach parapets.

The bridge will be closed throughout the project, and towpath diversion routes will be in place. The canal will remain open for boats to navigate.

“The bridge is a key route for people using the canal through Camden and with over one million visits each year, is one of the busiest bridges on our network,” says Ros Daniels, the Canal & River Trust’s director for London & South East. “Now over 175 years old, the bridge’s striking wrought iron lattice parapets will be lovingly restored. The works will ensure this historic bridge continues to carry millions of visitors enjoying the Regent’s Canal in Camden, for many years to come.”

Built at the beginning of the 20th century by the London & North Western Railway (LNWR), the massive Grade II Listed red brick Interchange Warehouse was designed to bring together canal, rail and road transport in one covered building, with three layers of storage.

How ‘Dead Dog’ became a moniker

The entrance to the dock became known as Dead Dog Tunnel because, historically, debris – including dead animals – accumulated here at the end of the 26-mile lock-free stretch of the canal flowing into central London.

Dead Dog Tunnel has featured in a number of films, including the 2015 Bond film Spectre, where it was used as a double for Q’s top secret underground workshop.

Today, the Interchange Building is a co-working office space. Using the Interchange Dock, iRecycle transports waste from the Interchange Building by barge to the Powerday recycling centre in West London.

The trust recently announced that the Anderton Boat Lift, reportedly the world’s first boat lift, will reopen in the spring after a major £450,000 repair package. This Victorian Scheduled Monument near Northwich, will start emergency repair works in mid-November, with the aim of reopening the lift by the end of March 2023.