Llangollen Bridge is built across the River Dee at the North end of the high street of

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...

in the county of

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnew ...

in North-east Wales. The Bridge is listed as one of the seven wonders of Wales and is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

. There has been a bridge across the Dee at Llangollen since at least 1284, though the current bridge appears to date to the 16th or 17th century when an earlier bridge was rebuilt. The current bridge has been enlarged numerous times since then, doubling in width. The bridge is still in use. The local high school Ysgol Dinas Bran graduating classes have a yearly tradition (oft discouraged) of jumping into the river Dee from the bridge

History

Traditionally, the establishment of the Llangollen bridge has been attributed to one of the two bishops:

John Trefor John Trefor is a BAFTA Cymru-winning British television director and producer. Biography Trefor began his career at the BBC as a director and producer on the series ''This Land'' in 2002 and ''Hidden Gardens'' in 2003. His greatest success to dat ...

(bishop 1346–1347) or John Trefor II (bishop 1394–1408), who is said to have had familial connections to

Owain Glyndwr Owain () is a name of Welsh origin, variously written in Old Welsh as Ougein, Eugein, Euguen, Iguein, Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein, Yuein, and in Middle Welsh as Ewein, Owein, and Ywein. Other variants of the name Owain include Ewein, Iguein, Owein, Ouein, Y ...

. Both men were bishops for the

Diocese of St. Asaph The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese of the Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop. Geography The Anglican Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of Wales stretches from the borders of Chester i ...

, one of the six Welsh Diocese, and resided at the nearby Trefor hall. However, this is unlikely to be the first bridge at the site, as there is evidence of a crossing there as early as 1284, which likely dates to the construction of the Valle-Crucis Abbey. It is equally unlikely that the bridge built by Trefor is the current structure as the tradition suggests. There are generally two alternative dates for the construction of the current bridge: 1540s and 1650s. The argument for the 1540s is based on evidence of sepulchral slabs within the masonry, indicating that it was rebuilt following the dissolution of the monasteries by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

from 1534 to 1541. The argument for the 1650s is the Rondle Reade stone which details a payment for construction work in 1656, at the site, though whether this refers to rebuilding or repairs is unclear. The bridge was extended in 1863 to accommodate a new railway line in the area and it was widened a decade later. The bridge nearly doubled in width again in 1968.

Architecture

The river bridge consists of four pointed arches of unequal size, with a further square opening over the railway. Much of the bridge is constructed from coursed rubble, apart from the newer rail section which is made of concrete. The river bridge is flanked by pointed cutwaters, those downstream being the taller.

References

{{coord, 52.97105, -3.17022, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed buildings in Denbighshire Bridges across the River Dee, Wales