Hewell Grange: Cast Iron Bridge north of the lake

Summary

A bridge of c.1820, cast by the Horseley Foundry.

Reasons for Designation

The Cast Iron bridge north of the Lake at Hewell Grange, dating from c.1820 and cast by the Horseley Foundry, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural and historic interest: the bridge is a good example of an early C19 cast iron bridge, with a strong architectural design and good detailing;
* Degree of survival: the bridge survives mostly intact;
* Group value: it has good group value with the Grade II* Registered Historic Park and Garden at Hewell Grange, of which it forms an important part.

History

Upon the death of the 5th Earl of Plymouth in 1799, the estate at Hewell Grange passed to his son, Other Archer, who came of age in 1810. The estate at that time had at its centre a house built c.1712, incorporating parts of an earlier house, and said to have been designed by Francis Smith of Warwick. The house sat in a park which had evolved over the course of the C18, with advice from the landscape architect William Shenstone in the 1750s and Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the 1760s.

Following his inheritance, the 6th Earl consulted Humphry Repton on improvements to the park at Hewell, and in 1812 Repton produced a red book for the estate. In 1815, the Earl chose Thomas Cundy as his architect for much of the work taking place at Hewell at this time, and improvements continued until the Earl's death in 1833, including some remodelling of the house itself.

The cast iron bridge at the north end of the lake at Hewell is understood to date from c.1820, and crosses the stream which feeds the lake, adjacent to a semi-circular weir controlling the flow of water as well as providing a visual and aural effect in the landscape. The iron structure and railings of the bridge were cast by the Horseley Foundry in Tipton, Staffordshire. The bridge was positioned so as to be visible with the park, with views on the approach both to and from the house.

The majority of the park at Hewell Grange was sold to the prison service in the 1940s and the bridge appears to have been largely out of use since that time.

Details

A bridge of c.1820, cast by the Horseley Foundry.

MATERIALS
The bridge is constructed largely of cast iron, with masonry abutments.

PLAN
The bridge is orientated roughly north-east to south-west.

DESCRIPTION
The bridge is a single span structure and its elevations are characterised by the concentric rings between the principal sections of the iron arches, which decrease in size as they reach the centre of the bridge, with tall parapets above. The arches spring from stone abutments of dressed ashlar which curve out to form retaining walls on each side. The parapets comprise tall iron railings with pointed finials, with taller posts at regular intervals and square sections at each end on the flank walls marking the ends of the bridge. Iron anchor points fixed in the abutments provide additional support to the bridge, and there are understood to be wrought iron fixings under the deck of the bridge which tie the structure together.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 6 April 2021 to correct dates.

Sources

Other
Hewell Grange Cast Iron Bridge, Statement of Significance (Jon Wallsgrove, 2015)
Hewell Grange Historic Landscape Appraisal (Parklands Consortium, 2001)

End of official list entry

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