Abergavenny Bridge, (also known as Usk Bridge), crosses the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...

at the boundary between

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

and

Llanfoist Llanfoist ( cy, Llan-ffwyst) is both a village near Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire, Wales, and the community of Llanfoist Fawr. Llanfoist derives from ''Ffwyst'', an early Christian Welsh saint, although the anglicised version of the church ...

. The bridge carries the A4143. The bridge is of medieval origin, but was substantially reconstructed in the early 19th century, to support a tramroad, and in the mid 19th century, when the two bridges were combined.

History

The bridge was originally known as Tudor Bridge, due to the historical tradition that it was built by

Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (November 143121/26 December 1495), was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was from the noble Tudor family of Penmynydd i ...

, who was also Baron Abergavenny. This supports a construction date of the mid-15th century. The early 19th century tramway, which originally ran parallel to the bridge, was constructed in 1811 by

William Crossley William Crossley may refer to: * Sir William Crossley, 1st Baronet Sir William John Crossley, 1st Baronet (22 April 1844 – 12 October 1911) was a British engineer and Liberal politician. W J Crossley was born at Glenburn, near Lisburn, County ...

. The tramway carried the

Llanvihangel Railway The Llanvihangel Railway was an early horse-drawn railway line in Monmouthshire which operated over a 6.25 mile route between the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal and Llanvihangel Crucorney from 1814 until 1846. The Act of Parliament for the railway ...

from the canal at

. In the mid-19th century the bridge and the tramway were combined. The bridge was the subject of two paintings by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

dating from the 1790s. The first, ''Abergavenny Bridge, Monmouthshire, Clearing Up after a Showery Day'', is held in the collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

The second, entitled ''Abergavenny Bridge'', is held by

The Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

but is not exhibited due to deterioration of the paintwork. In 2016

Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) ( cy, Cyngor Sir Fynwy) is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 an ...

began a consultation on the construction of a pedestrian and cycleway bridge, 300m to the east of the Abergavenny Bridge.

Description

The bridge has seven

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

ed arches and cutwaters below. The

parapets A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wher ...

were rebuilt in the 20th century, and have flat

coping Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

stones. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Notes

References

* {{Cite book , last=Newman, first=John , authorlink=John Newman (architectural historian) , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Gwent/Monmouthshire , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&pg=PA2 , year=2000 , publisher=Penguin , location=London , isbn=0-14-071053-1 Grade II* listed bridges in Wales Bridges over the River Usk Bridges in Monmouthshire Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Scheduled monuments in Monmouthshire Stone bridges in the United Kingdom