Bewdley Bridge

Bewdley Bridge

Bewdley Bridge from Severnside North
Coordinates 52°22′35″N 2°18′50″W / 52.3765°N 2.3139°W / 52.3765; -2.3139Coordinates: 52°22′35″N 2°18′50″W / 52.3765°N 2.3139°W / 52.3765; -2.3139
Carries Motor vehicles, B4190 road
Crosses River Severn
Locale Bewdley, Worcestershire
Heritage status Grade I listed
Characteristics
Design Arch bridge
Material stone
Width 27 feet (8.2 m)
Longest span 60 feet (18 m)
Number of spans 3
Piers in water 2
Clearance below 18 feet (5.5 m)
History
Designer Thomas Telford
Constructed by John Simpson
Construction end 1798

Bewdley Bridge is a three-span masonry arch bridge over the River Severn at Bewdley, Worcestershire. The two side spans are each 52 feet (16 m), with the central span 60 feet (18 m). The central arch rises 18 feet (5.5 m). Smaller flood arches on the bank bridge the towpath. The bridge is 27 feet (8.2 m) wide.

History

There has been a bridge at this location since 1447, each being destroyed and replaced.[1] Severe flooding in 1795 destroyed the previous bridge. That bridge comprised five pointed stone arches. A stone gatehouse on one pier had been replaced with a stone cottage by the time of a 1781 print. One of the arches had also been damaged by the Royalists in 1644 and rebuilt in timber.[2]

Parts of a fifteenth-century bridge were rediscovered in 2004 during excavations for new flood defences.[3]

Thomas Telford designed the current bridge, which was built in 1798 by Shrewsbury-based contractor John Simpson for £9,000.[4] Its toll house was demolished in the 1960s.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Buteux, Victoria (1995), Archaeological assessment of Bewdley (and Wribbenhall), Hereford and Worcester (PDF), Worcestershire County Archaeological Service, retrieved 24 January 2010
  2. ↑ Jervoise, E. (1976) [1936]. Ancient Bridges of Wales & Western England. EP Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 0-7158-1152-5.
  3. ↑ "Workmen discover old town bridge". BBC News. 2 September 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  4. ↑ "Bewdley Bridge". Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 24 January 2010.

Further reading

External links

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