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 structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

over the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

Bewdley Bewdley ( ) 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, and is west of Kidderminster, north of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham. It ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, designed by civil engineer

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (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 Scotland, as well ...

. The two side spans are each , with the central span . The central arch rises . Smaller flood arches on the bank bridge the towpath. The bridge is wide.

History

There has been a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

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 the 15th-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 ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

-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 statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, 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 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

. Colonel Robert Lilburne, along with Major Mercer, five troops of Worcester Dragoons, Worcestershire horse and two troops of Colonel Rich's regiment were assigned to secure the bridge during the battle.

References

https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MWR2541&resourceID=1035

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