Bewdley Bridge

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

There had been bridges at this location from 1447, each being destroyed and replaced. 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. [Jervoise, p.142]

Parts of a fifteenth century bridge were rediscovered in 2004 during excavations for new flood defences. [http://www.bewdley.org.uk/news.asp?newsID=44]

Thomas Telford designed the current bridge, which was built in 1798 by Shrewsbury-based contractor John Simpson for £11,000. Its toll house was demolished in the 1960s.

References

*Cragg, R., "Civil Engineering Heritage - Wales & West Central England", Thomas Telford Publishing, 2nd edn., 1997, ISBN 0-7277-2576-9
*Jervoise, E., "Ancient Bridges of Wales & Western England", EP Publishing Ltd., 1976 (first published 1936) ISBN 0-7158-1152-5
*Witts, C., "A Century of Bridges", River Severn Publications, 2nd edn., 1998, ISBN 0-9532711-0-2

Notes

External links

* [http://www.antiqueprints.com/proddetail.php?prod=f0621 1814 engraving of the bridge]
* [http://worcestershire.whub.org.uk/home/wccindex/wcc-records/wcc-records-pic-8.htm 1823 painting of the bridge]
* [http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=317 Information at Engineering Timelines]