Dry Arch Bridge 300yds (270m) NE of St Giles' Church

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005349
Date first listed:: 08-May-1975

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005349
Date first listed:: 08-May-1975

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: County of Herefordshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Goodrich
National Grid Reference:: SO 57532 19222

Summary

Single span bridge 390m south west of Priory Farm.

Reasons for Designation

The single span bridge 390m south west of Priory Farm may actually be one of the earliest examples of a bridge specifically built to carry a minor road across a more major one without the interruption of the busier road by a road junction. It did, however, allow pedestrian traffic to cross from one ‘lane’ to the other three dimensionally without a lengthy diversion. It remains in active use and presumably set the scene for all major road traffic intersections which were to follow and as such represents an early example of congestion alleviation on the road network which is so pivotal to modern road travel.

History

See Details.

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 21 May 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 situated on a sloping ridge which forms the western valley side of the River Wye. The bridge is known locally as ‘Dry Arch Bridge’ and with the aid of a rock cut cutting enables one road to pass beneath another at right angles. The bridge is fully standing and stone built and there is a flight of 33 steps which connect the upper road with the lower road for use by pedestrians. The bridge carries a road still in use by vehicles (the Goodrich-Welsh Bicknor road) across another road similarly employed (the B4229) and is described by the county as being ‘an excellent example of very early vehicle grade separation’ or a simple ‘fly-over’. The bridge was built in 1825-8.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:: HE 193
Legacy System:: RSM - OCN

Sources

Other
PastScape 109634

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.