Rhyd-Meredydd Bridge over River Tanat

Summary

Single span bridge called Rhyd-Meredydd Bridge 580m south-east of Penissarllan Farm.

Reasons for Designation

Medieval and post-medieval single span bridges are structures designed to carry a road or track over a river by means of a single arch, typically 3m-6m in span. They were constructed from the medieval period onwards and the earliest were most commonly built using timber. Stone began to be used instead in the 12th century and became increasingly common in the 14th and 15th centuries. Many medieval bridges were repaired, modified or extensively rebuilt in the post- medieval period. The bridge abutments and revetting of the river banks also form part of the bridge. Bridges were common and important features of towns and the countryside and allowed easy access along a well developed road and track-way system. The single span bridge called Rhyd-Meredydd Bridge 580m south east of Penissarllan Farm survives well, retaining many original features and was designed by the famous civil engineer, architect, stone mason, canal, road and bridge builder Thomas Telford (1757-1834) who was Shropshire County Surveyor and responsible for many famous projects including the Caledonian Canal, Pontcyllte Aqueduct, the Menai suspension bridge and the A5 trunk road (to name but a few) throughout his distinguished career. This is an example of his civil engineering skill.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 17 June 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records. As such they do not yet have the full descriptions of their modernised counterparts available. Please contact us if you would like further information.

This monument includes a single span bridge which crosses the River Tanat some distance to the south east of the settlement of Llanyblodwel. The bridge survives as a stone built structure with a single span of approximately 24m long and with a carriageway of 6m wide. The bridge has 0.9m high parapets and stands at about 18m above the river. Designed by Thomas Telford, it was built by John Simpson of Shrewsbury and completed in the summer of 1810. The dressed stone came from Plas Kynaston Quarry or Sweeney Mountain and the rubble from Trevlock. It remains in daily use by traffic since it is carrying the A495 road.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

SA 291

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape 1043135
Shropshire HER 01115

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