Crickhowell Bridge is an 18th-century bridge that spans 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 ...

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern edge ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, Wales. The main A4077 road to

Gilwern Gilwern is a village within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, Wales. Historically in Brecknockshire, it extends to either side of the River Clydach, Monmouthshire, River Clydach on the south side of the River Usk, Usk valley. It ...

crosses it. The bridge is claimed to be the longest stone bridge in Wales at over .

History and description

The bridge is first documented in 1538 and is believed to have existed since medieval times, originally constructed from timber. In 1706 it was completely rebuilt in stone with additional arches, at a cost of £400. It was replaced by a temporary bridge in 1808 after being severely damaged by flooding and the repaired bridge, in 1810, was widened on the northwest (upstream) side (the downstream side remains original to 1706). The bridge engineer was Benjamin James (of

Llangattock Llangattock ( cy, Llangatwg) is a village, community and electoral ward in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It lies in the Usk Valley just across the river from the town of Crickhowell. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal passe ...

) and the cost totalled £2,300. In 1828–30 the northeast end was altered, reducing the upstream length by one arch by combining the two largest upstream arches into one. The bridge was substantially repaired in 1928 and again in 1979, to repair cracking caused by motor vehicles. In 2011 part of the parapet was demolished by a car, following a police chase. Crickhowell Bridge is unusual (due to the 1828 alterations) in that it has a different number of arches upstream (12) from downstream (13). On the (original) downstream side, the arches are recessed, though not on the upstream side. The bridge has V-shaped cutwaters to both sides with pedestrian refuges above. Construction is of rubble masonry with flat coping stones on the parapets. The bridge is long and has a minimum width of between parapets. The bridge became a Grade I

listed structure 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 ...

in 1998, being "one of Wales' finest early bridges". It is also 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 ...

References

{{coord, 51.8565, -3.1420, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges over the River Usk Transport infrastructure completed in 1706 Grade I listed bridges in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Powys Road bridges in Wales Bridges completed in 1706 Stone bridges in the United Kingdom Bridges in Powys Crickhowell

History and description

See also

References