Carmarthen bridge over Afon Towy - geograph

Carmarthen Bridge (also known locally as the Towy Bridge or Town Bridge) is the modern 1930s road bridge crossing the River Tywi in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, carrying the A484 road.

Early history

A stone bridge crossing the River Tywi at Carmarthen, nine miles from the river's mouth at the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

, - from "A Topographical Dictionary of Wales" by S. Lewis (1849). was first recorded in 1233. There was definitely no bridge at Carmarthen in 1188 when Giraldus Cambrensis visited. It is believed that a bridge was built during the 1233 siege of Carmarthen. By 1326 the bridge had clearly become unusable, as it had been replaced by a boat service, and King Edward II allowed the collection of money from ferryboat men to fund a replacement crossing. The town's priory was still raising money for a replacement bridge in 1362. Therefore, the bridge was repaired after this date. It was repaired and widened several times, in 1777 and 1834. The old bridge had seven arches and was recorded in 1849 as having an iron balustrade. The arches were divided by pointed

cutwater A cutwater is the forward part of the prow or stem of a watercraft around the waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is paralle ...

s. The old bridge was demolished in 1936 to make way for a modern replacement.

20th century

The current road bridge is a three-arch concrete structure designed in 1933 by the architect

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Military Cross, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate architecture, Italianate village of Portmeirion in North ...

(best known for designing the village of

Portmeirion Portmeirion (; ) is a folly* * * tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community (Wales), community of Penrhyndeudraeth, from Porthmadog and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was d ...

). Construction of the new bridge began in May 1936. Completed at a cost of £89,091, it came into public use in September 1937. It was officially opened by the Minister of Transport, Leslie Burgin, in April 1938. The Williams-Ellis bridge has curved grey

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

cutwaters between each arch. The parapets are built up with layers of sandstone ashlar, alternating in thickness. There are Georgian style octagonal lamps attached to the parapets above each arch. The parapets continue some distance beyond the ends of the bridge, for example the southwest parapet curving down Station Approach towards the nearby

Carmarthen Railway Station Carmarthen railway station is a stop on the West Wales Line, serving the town of Carmarthen, Wales. It is sited south of the River Towy, from London Paddington station, London Paddington, on the route via . The station is operated by Transport ...

. The bridge was Grade II listed in 2003, being an early 20th-century concrete bridge designed by an important Welsh architect.

References

External links

{{coord, 51.8547, -4.3045, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges completed in the 13th century Bridges completed in 1937 Bridges in Carmarthenshire Buildings and structures in Carmarthen Concrete bridges in Wales Grade II listed bridges in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Carmarthenshire Rebuilt buildings and structures in Wales Road bridges in Wales Bridges over the River Towy