Chepstow Road Bridge
Region:
Red Wheel Site:
Transport Mode(s):
Address:
Bridge Street, Chepstow, Gwent NP16 5EZ
Postcode:
Visitor Centre:
Website:
Visit website
The Normans built a bridge over the River Wye at Chepstow in the 13th century and wooden bridges spanned the river up until the beginning of the last century when the present iron bridge was built.
Chepstow magistrates, who inspected the wooden bridge in 1810, decided that it was "in decay" and asked for estimates to patch it up. John Rennie, the engineer who built Waterloo Bridge in London, submitted a report relating to the repair of the bridge, but recommended replacement rather than repair and put the cost of a new bridge at £41,890. This was considered too expensive. No further action took place until an accident caused damage to the bridge and the loss of six lives.
The contract for the bridge was let on 14th June, 1814, at an estimated cost of £17,150: the figure eventually rose to almost £20,000, but was still half the cost of John Rennie's 1810 estimate. The bridge was made of cast iron, cast by William Hazledine of Shrewsbury. The total length was 113 m (372 ft), with the span of the centre arch 34 m (112 ft).
The new iron bridge was built by John Rastrick of the Bridgenorth (Shropshire) firm of Hazeldine, Rastrick & Brodie. The design is often credited to Rennie, but his design incorporated a large central arch supporting a horizontal roadway, a much more expensive project. Rastrick's design is a rather more elegant structure.
By Road: On A48
By rail: Chepstow Station is approx 2 km away
Addison, Sir William, The Old Roads of England, Batsford, ISBN 0 7134 1714 5 (1980)
Albert, W., The Turnpike Road System in England 1663-1840, Cambridge University Press, ISBN O 5210 3391 8 (1972)
Aldhouse-Green, M. & Howell, R., Gwent In Prehistory and Early History: The Gwent County History Vol.1, ISBN-10: 0708318266 (2004)
Barker, Theo, The Rise and Rise of Road Transport, 1700-1990, Cambridge University Press, ISBN-10 0521557739 (1995)
Codrington, Thomas, Roman Roads in Britain: Early Britain, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN-10 0548240310 (2007)
Davies, Hugh, Roads in Roman Britain, History Press, ISBN-10 0752425030 (2008)
Davies, Hugh, Roman Roads, Shire, ISBN-10 074780690X (2008)
Harrison, David, The Bridges of Medieval England: Transport and Society 400-1800, Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0199226857 (2007)
Hindle, P., Roads and Tracks for Historians, Phillimore & Co, ISBN-10: 1860771823 (2001)
Hindley, G., History of the Roads, Peter Davies, ISBN 0 8065 0290 8 (1971)
Jackson, Gibbard, From Track to Highway, Nicholson and Watson, ASIN B00085R4D8 (1935)
Jeramiah, Josephine, The River Wye: a Pictorial History, Phillimore & Co, ISBN-10: 186077301X (2004)
Jervoise, E., Ancient Bridges of England, Architectural Press, ASIN B00085PLDI (1932)
Johnston, David, An Illustrated History of Roman Roads in Britain, Spur Books, ISBN-10 0904978338 (1979)
Needle, Barry, The River Wye, Seren, ISBN-10: 1854113445 (2004)
Peel, J. H. B., Along the Roman Roads of Britain, Macmillan, ISBN-10: 0330239309 (1976)
Sheldon, G., From Trackway to Turnpike, Oxford University Press, ASIN B001N2GS2S (1928)
Smiles, Samuel, The Life of Thomas Telford Civil Engineer with an Introductory History of Roads and Travelling in Great Britain (1867), The Echo Library, ISBN-10: 1406805866 (2006)
Taylor, C., Roads and Tracks of Britain, Littlehampton Books, ISBN 0 460 04329 3 (1979)