Friday Photo- Saturday Bridge

Today’s Friday Photo should probably be aptly called ‘Saturday’ photo. Located on the edge of the jewellery Quarter, just off Summer Row, I’ve never really noticed Saturday bridge before, but today I ventured down for a closer look. A plaque on the wall reads “Saturday Bridge, possibly named after the alleged practice of paying boatmens’ wages at this point on Saturdays’. How incredible! Boatmen would in fact give nicknames to bridges in and around Birmingham and this one is no exception, and in fact was a wage drop-off point. But also notice the painted red railings on the bridge. This is a homage to the fact that many canal bridges had red doors. The doors were cut into the brick work so that the fire brigade could use them during the Second World War to replenish their tanks of water! I like the fact that the council kept a bit of history here! I am certainly going to look out for the many canal red doors when I venture along the canal network again.