Llangynidr_Bridge_with_weight_restriction_-_geograph

Llangynidr Bridge, also known as "Coed-yr-Ynys Bridge", is an early 18th-century bridge that 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 ...

to the north of

Llangynidr Llangynidr is a village, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales, about west of Crickhowell and south-east of Brecon. The River Usk flows through the village as does the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. It is in the historic county of B ...

, Powys, Wales. It carries the B4560 road towards

Bwlch Bwlch (meaning ''a pass'' in Welsh) is a small village and an electoral ward in Powys, southern Wales. The settlement is strung out along the A40 road which crosses a low col above the Usk Valley at this point on its route between Brecon and C ...

. The existing stone bridge dates from approximately 1700, and is thought by some to be the oldest bridge on the

. It replaced an earlier bridge that was located 500m further west; the sale deeds of a local smithy, dated 1630, contain the first known reference to that earlier bridge, which itself replaced a wooden bridge shown on a land survey of 1587. Llangynidr Bridge lies in the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

(county division) of

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 ...

and is similar in style to the Crickhowell Bridge over the Usk, which dates from 1706. It has six arches, which vary in span from 22 to 30 feet, divided by v-shaped cutwaters topped by pedestrian refuges and parapets with plain

coping stone 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 ...

s. The cutwaters continue up to the parapet, in order to provide spaces for pedestrians to stand to avoid wheeled traffic crossing the bridge. It is 69 m (230 ft) long and the road is 2.4 m (8 ft) wide. It is considered a particularly impressive example because of its height - reducing the danger of flooding - and its location, which gives a good view of the architecture. Llangynidr Bridge is known to have been repaired in 1707, and again in 1822. In 1794 a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

gate was set up on the Bwlch side of the river, and the right to collect the tolls was auctioned off in 1800. The turnpike cottage is still standing and was purchased from the Beaufort estate in 1915 by the family of one of the earliest toll-keepers. Theophilus Jones, passing through in 1809, noted that the responsibility for repairs lay with the hundred of Crickhowell. Further repairs were carried out in 2015–16. The bridge has been painted over the years by many artists, notably Sir

Cedric Morris Sir Cedric Lockwood Morris, 9th Baronet (11 December 1889 – 8 February 1982) was a British artist, art teacher and plantsman. He was born in Swansea in South Wales, but worked mainly in East Anglia. As an artist he is best known for his portra ...

, whose painting of the bridge has been purchased for

Y Gaer Y Gaer () is a Roman fort situated near modern-day Brecon in Mid Wales, United Kingdom. Y Gaer is located at (Landranger 160). History Y Gaer was built around AD 75 and sits on a crossroads of Roman roads in the valley of the River Usk at a ...

, Elizabeth Wynter and Gwyn Briwnant Jones. A short way from the bridge is a

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...

, 14 feet tall, which stands on a field boundary. The bridge became a Grade II

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 1952; it was upgraded to Grade I in 2003 as one of the best early road bridges in Wales, ranked equally with Crickhowell Bridge.

References

{{coord, 51.8747, -3.2330, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges completed in 1700 Bridges in Powys Bridges over the River Usk Grade I listed bridges in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Powys Road bridges in Wales 1700 establishments in the British Empire