The Usk Bridge,

Usk Usk () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks the ancient cr ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, carries the

A472 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is th ...

over the

River Usk The River Usk (; ) 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 flows north int ...

. It is the town's oldest crossing of the river and is a Grade II* listed structure.

History and description

The existing stone bridge is constructed of

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

and is attributed to the Welsh bridge builder

William Edwards William Edwards may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Edwards (architect) (1719–1789), Welsh architect of the Pontypridd bridge in south Wales * William Camden Edwards (1777–1855), Welsh engraver *William Augustus Edwards (1866–1939), ...

. It was built between 1746 and 1747. It has five arches with pointed cutwaters between each arch. The bridge was widened in 1836-7, the widening maintaining the original appearance. The evidence of reconstruction can be seen in the arch

soffit A soffit is an exterior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of the roof edge. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of rafters or trusses over the exterior of supporting walls, is t ...

s. The bridge was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1974. The architectural historian John Newman described it as "traditional but well-proportioned". It has been subject to considerable damage by traffic in the 21st century.

Notes

Sources

* {{Commons category, Usk Bridge, Usk, Usk Bridge, position=right Bridges over the River Usk Transport infrastructure completed in 1747 Grade II* listed bridges in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire Road bridges in Wales Stone bridges in the United Kingdom

History and description

See also

Notes

Sources