Bewdley Bridge is a three-span masonry

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

over the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the River Sev ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, designed by civil engineer

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

. The two side spans are each , with the central span . The central arch rises . Smaller

flood arch A flood arch is a small supplemental arch bridge provided alongside a main bridge. It provides extra capacity for floodwater. The space beneath a flood arch is normally dry and often carries a towpath A towpath is a road or trail on th ...

es on the bank bridge the towpath. The bridge is wide.

History

There has been a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

at this location since 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. Parts of a fifteenth-century bridge were rediscovered in 2004 during excavations for new flood defences.

designed the current bridge and was assisted by resident civil engineer, M Davidson. It was built in 1798 by

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

-based contractor John Simpson for £9,000. Its toll house was demolished in the 1960s. The bridge was one of the main objectives of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, during the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

. Colonel

Robert Lilburne Robert Lilburne (1613–1665) was an English Parliamentarian soldier, the older brother of John Lilburne, the well known Leveller. Unlike his brother, who severed his relationship with Oliver Cromwell, Robert Lilburne remained in the army. He i ...

, along with Major Mercer, 5 troops of Worcester Dragoons, Worcestershire horse and 2 troops of Colonel Rich's regiment were assigned to secure the bridge during the Battle.

References

External links

1814 engraving of the bridge
Bridges across the River Severn

Bridges completed in 1798 Bridges by Thomas Telford

Former toll bridges in England Grade I listed buildings in Worcestershire

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links