Manchester Racecourse, Castle Irwell (i), Timber Footbridge:

On Lower Broughton Road is the large playing field, established by Manchester Grammar School in I899, with Hugh Oldham Road bounding its north side. Almost on the line of this road there was formerly a road from Lower Broughton Road to Castle Irwell and the racecourse, over a curious wooden bridge of the American type, a lofty framed structure, close boarded at the sides, and, roofed over, so as to form something like a close square tube reaching across the river. In the flood of 1866 this wooden bridge was washed away; it passed down the river half submerged and rolling to and fro. Spectators watched its approach to the slender suspension bridge at Gerald Road, expecting to see a ruinous crash; but just as it touched this bridge it happened to be rolling up stream at its upper part, so it touched gently and rolled underneath without harm. It was stranded opposite the Crescent. but was never replaced. {Edward Corbett: River Irwell] This bridge does not appear on the OS map of 1848 and must have been constructed by the racecourse company shortly thereafter. The Manchester Guardian states that most of the pedestrian traffic to the racecourse in Whit Week passed across this bridge [MG 17 November 1866 page 5] [MG 16 June 1859 page 4]

Reference    Manchester Guardian 16 June 1859 page 4
Reference    Manchester Guardian 7 November 1866 page 5