Old Bridge, Bridgend

The Old Bridge (Welsh: Yr Hen Bont) is a medieval two arched stone footbridge that spans the River Ogmore at Bridgend in Wales. It is not known who designed or built the bridge, however it was built in approximately 1425. The bridge was repaired in 1775 and restored both in 2005 and 2011. The bridge is a scheduled ancient monument and a grade II* listed bridge.

Old Bridge
Yr Hen Bont
Coordinates51°30′24″N 3°34′49″W
CarriesPedestrians
CrossesRiver Ogmore
LocaleBridgend, Wales
Maintained byBridgend County Borough
Characteristics
DesignArch bridge
Width2.6 m (8.5 ft)
Longest span13.7 m (45 ft)
History
Openedc. 1425
Statistics
TollFree
Official nameBridgend Old Bridge[1]
Reference no.GM049
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameOld Bridge[2]
Designated29 September 1986[2]
Reference no.11303[2]
Location

History and construction
The Old Bridge looking south

The Old Bridge replaced an earlier medieval structure spanning the River Ogmore. The name of Bridgend in Welsh is Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr, which means "the head of the bridge on the Ogmore".[3] Pilgrims would have used the bridge to cross the River Ogmore on their way to St David's Cathedral.[4]

The stone bridge is believed to have been built around 1425 with five-spans.[5] It is not known who designed and built the bridge.[5] The five-span structure had three river arches and smaller flood arches on each bank.[5][6] On 21 August 1775, the western pier had been demolished due to a flood, which partially destroyed two arches on that side of the bridge.[5][6] The arches were then rebuilt as a single arch of double span.[5]

The two visible arches span 13.7 m (45 ft) on the western side and 6.9 m (23 ft) on the eastern side of the bridge.[5] A third arch is only visible in the rear yard of an office building, built around 1830.[7] In early 2015, the fourth arch of bridge was discovered for the first time in hundreds of years within Cariads Cwtch Apothecary 12 Dunraven Place. It was found behind a wall in the basement of the same office.A small port hole has been made by Cariads Cwtch Apothecary to be able to see part of the old stone Bridge structure in the property[7]

The Old Bridge stone plaque

The bridge was last used by motor vehicles in 1920.[5] In 2005 the bridge was restored and again in 2011 with its cobbled footway relaid using traditional lime mortar.[5] The bridge now has statutory protection as a scheduled ancient monument (GM049) and grade II* listed structure.[2] It is still used as a footbridge with the width of the bridge being 2.6 m (8.5 ft).

See also

References
  1. Cadw. "Bridgend Old Bridge (GM049)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. "Old Bridge". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. Mills, David (2011), A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 76, ISBN 9780199609086, retrieved 29 February 2016
  4. "15th Century bridge which named Bridgend gets facelift". BBC. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  5. "Old Bridge, Bridgend". Engineering timelines. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  6. "The Old Bridge". BridgendPPF.com. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  7. "Old stone bridge's fourth arch revealed after hundreds of years". WalesOnline. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
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