Cast iron single-span bridge 110m WNW of Sherbourne House
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1005883
- Date first listed:
- 19-Mar-1970
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Scheduled monument
- List Entry Number:
- 1005883
- Date first listed:
- 19-Mar-1970
- Location Description:
- Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Coventry (Metropolitan Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- SP 32699 78831
Reasons for Designation
Iron was used as one of the components of bridge construction for at least a thousand years before it was first used as the principal construction material in the Iron Bridge erected by Abraham Darby in 1779 over the Severn at Coalbrookdale. Despite its use of iron, however, the Iron Bridge simply copied existing construction techniques suited to timber, and therefore did not maximise the potential of this new material. The engineer Thomas Telford subsequently recognised that the lighter cast iron frames allowed the use of flatter angles and less substantial foundations, whilst still enabling single spans and avoiding the central piers which hindered navigation and caused instability by attracting water-scouring. The development of the single span cast iron bridge thus represented a turning point in British bridge design and engineering. All examples which retain significant original fabric are of importance. Despite having been moved the cast iron single span bridge 110m WNW of Sherbourne House survives well and retains its original features thus demonstrating its engineering design and reflecting the manufacturing process.
Details
The monument includes a cast iron single-span footbridge, locally known as 'Vignoles Bridge', which crosses the River Sherbourne close to the centre of the present city of Coventry. The bridge survives as a painted metal bridge with a single elliptical arched span, geometric pierced balustrades, brick-built splayed abutments and parapets and with a tarmac covered walkway. Built in about 1835, it was designed by Charles Vignoles and cast by the Horsley Iron Works of Tipton, Staffordshire, whose name is cast onto the half arch spans on one side of the bridge. It originally spanned a branch of the Oxford canal and was moved to its present site in 1969.
Sources: PastScape 869478
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- WM 36
- Legacy System:
- RSM - OCN
Legal
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 09:30:19.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.