Llandrinio Bridge, Llandrinio,

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, Wales, is a road bridge 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 ...

. Constructed between 1769 and 1775, the bridge is attributed to John Gwynn of Shrewsbury, a noted local architect who designed a number of crossings over the Severn, as well as

Magdalen Bridge Magdalen Bridge spans the divided stream of the River Cherwell just to the east of the City of Oxford, England, and next to Magdalen College, Oxford, Magdalen College, whence it gets its name and pronunciation. It connects the High Street, Oxf ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. The bridge is also the site of defensive structures dating to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, including a

pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, often ...

disguised as an agricultural

cowshed Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a hi ...

and Dragon's teeth tank traps at its northern end. The bridge is a Grade I listed structure and a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

History and description

Archdeacon Thomas Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma (Mar Thoma the Great) and Arkkadiyakkon Thoma (Archdeacon Thomas) in Malayalam, and referred to as Thomas de Campo in Portuguese language, Portuguese, was the first native-born Malankara Metropolitan, ...

, in his ''History of the Parish of Llandrinio'' published in 1895, suggested that the site of Llandrinio Bridge represented an ancient crossing, and identified a reference to a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

in a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

of 1309. The present bridge was built between 1769 and 1775, almost certainly to the designs of John Gwynn. Gwynn, a native of

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 ...

, designed a number of crossings over the

, including the

English Bridge The English Bridge is a masonry arch viaduct, crossing the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The present bridge is a 1926 rebuilding and widening (re-using the original masonry) of John Gwynn's design, completed in 1774. A bridge is kn ...

in his home town, and Atcham Bridge in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

. He also worked in

, designing the Covered Market and

. At the outbreak of

, plans were made for the defence of Britain in the event of a German invasion. In the west, a defensive line, Western Command Stop Line No.1, followed the line of the Severn from

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

. The line crossed the river at Llandrinio, and the bridge was fortified with a

disguised as an agricultural shed and Dragon's teeth tank traps at its northern end. The Severn at Llandrinio is susceptible to flooding, which can lead to frequent closure of the bridge. In 2015, particularly severe flooding led to fears that the bridge was at risk of collapse. Subsequent investigations showed that several of the bridge's

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

had been removed by the floodwaters and a major programme of structural repair was required. Llandrinio Bridge is constructed of

pink sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of ...

. Three arches span the river at a length of 45 metres. Scourfield and Haslam, in their ''Powys'' volume of the '' Pevsner Buildings of Wales'', describe Llandrinio as a "humped narrow roadway, yet a most graceful line when seen from the

iver Iver is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central nucleated village, clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets o ...

bank". The bridge is a Grade I listed structure and a

Notes

References

Sources

* {{Cite book , last1=Scourfield, first1=Robert , last2=Richard, first2=Haslam , series=The Buildings of Wales , title=Powys: Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Breconshire , year=2013 , publisher=Yale University Press , location=New Haven and London , isbn=978-0-300-18508-9 , oclc=935421607 , ref= {{sfnRef, Scourfield, Haslam, 2013 Bridges completed in 1775 Bridges in Powys Bridges across the River Severn Grade I listed bridges in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Powys Road bridges in Wales