Bigsweir Bridge is an 1827 road bridge crossing the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

, straddling the boundary between the parish of St. Briavels,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, and Llandogo,

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 ...

, Wales.

Location

The bridge carries the A466 road, and is located about north of the village of Llandogo, south of Whitebrook, and west of the village of St Briavels. It is the Normal Tidal Limit of the

, and navigation below this point falls under the jurisdiction of the Gloucester Harbour Trustees.

The bridge

The elegant

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

road bridge was built in 1827 as part of the new turnpike road constructed up the lower part of the Wye valley between

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

and

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

. The bridge connects the English and Welsh sides of the river, with an abandoned but recently restored

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

on the Welsh side. The bridge comprises a single arch of , and was designed by Charles Hollis of London and cast at

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

. A pair of stone flood arches were added at each end some years later, doubling the length of the bridge. Because of its narrow width, modern traffic using the A466 is controlled by traffic signals at either end. Bigsweir Bridge became a Grade II*

listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1988. In common with many bridges which cross country or county boundaries, it has two listings, the

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

listing for the English side of the bridge, and the

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

listing for the Welsh side. The bridge was repaired, strengthened and repainted in 2010–11.

Locality

There is no village at Bigsweir. The bridge is about upstream of the fishing

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

and ford of Bigsweir, which is close to Bigsweir House. According to Sir Joseph Bradney, the weir, one of many of ancient origin on the river, was named after Buddig or Budic, the father of Euddogwy or Oudoceus, a 7th-century Welsh bishop who retired to Llandogo. Recorded early spellings of the name include Bikeswere and Brithekeswere. Fishing rights at Bigsweir were mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. By 1331 the rights were held by the monks of Tintern Abbey, some downstream of the weir, and there were objections to the abbey raising the level of the weir and so impeding navigation. The rights over the weir transferred to the Earl of Worcester in 1537, later passing to his successors, the Dukes of Beaufort.St. Briavels at British History Online
Retrieved 11 February 2015

Bigsweir House and estate

The Bigsweir estate, on the Gloucestershire side of the weir, was originally part of the lands of the

Bishops of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

, before the freehold passed to Thomas Catchmay in 1445. It remained the main seat and estate of the Catchmay (or Catchmayde) family for several centuries. Bigsweir House itself was rebuilt around 1740, probably by William Catchmay (d.1743). It is a building of two storeys built of sandstone, with a symmetrical five-bay front. Additions were made to the house after it passed to James Rooke (d.1805). The estate was enlarged by purchases of woodland, and the house itself was refurbished with rich internal decoration, including panelled rooms and elaborate

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

s and

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

s. Further extensions were added in the 20th century. Bigsweir House is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, added to the register in 1954. The house was regularly used as a filming location in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

''.

References

{{Reflist Bridges in Monmouthshire Bridges in Gloucestershire Cast-iron arch bridges in England Cast-iron arch bridges in Wales Grade II* listed bridges in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Gloucestershire Bridges across the River Wye Former toll bridges in England Former toll bridges in Wales Bridges completed in 1827 Grade II* listed buildings in Monmouthshire

Location

The bridge

Locality

Bigsweir House and estate

See also

References