# Crickhowell Bridge

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{{Short description|Bridge in Crickhowell, mid Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Crickhowell Bridge
|native_name = 
|native_name_lang = 
|image = Crickhowell, Wales IMG 0406.jpg - panoramio.jpg
|image_upright = 1.3
|caption = 
|carries = Vehicles and pedestrian traffic
|crosses = [River Usk](/source/River_Usk)
|locale = [Crickhowell](/source/Crickhowell), [Powys](/source/Powys), Wales
|id =
|designer =
|design = 
|material = [Rubble](/source/Rubble) stone
|length = {{convert|128.00|m|abbr=on}}
|width={{convert|4.00|m|abbr=on}}
|height =
|load =
|spans = 
|pierswater = 
|clearance =
|below =
|traffic =
|begin = Origins 1538, rebuilt 1706, expanded 1810
|complete =
|open =
|closed =
|toll =
|coordinates = {{coord|51.8564|-3.1423|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|extra = {{Designation list
  | embed                   = yes
  | designation1            = Grade I listed building
  | designation1_offname    = Crickhowell Bridge (partly in Crickhowell community)  
  | designation1_type       =
  | designation1_criteria   =
  | designation1_date       = 21 October 1978
  | delisted1_date          =
  | designation1_number     = 20716
  | designation2            = Scheduled Monument
  | designation2_offname    = Crickhowell Bridge
  | designation2_type       =
  | designation2_criteria   =
  | designation2_date       = 
  | delisted2_date          =
  | designation2_number     = BR005}}
}}
'''Crickhowell Bridge''' is an 18th-century bridge that spans the [River Usk](/source/River_Usk) in [Crickhowell](/source/Crickhowell), [Powys](/source/Powys), [Wales](/source/Wales). The main A4077 road to [Gilwern](/source/Gilwern) crosses it. The bridge is claimed to be the longest stone bridge in [Wales](/source/Wales)<ref>{{Citation|author=Winn, Christopher |title=I Never Knew That About Wales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LW-7nmW_diEC&pg=PA24 |publisher=Ebury Press |page=24 |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-0919-1858-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Crickhowell |url=http://tourism.powys.gov.uk/crickhowell.php |publisher=Explore Mid Wales (Powys County Council) |accessdate=8 January 2015 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718063758/http://tourism.powys.gov.uk/crickhowell.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> at over {{convert|128|m}}. It is a [Grade I listed building](/source/Listed_building) and a [Scheduled monument](/source/Scheduled_monument).

==History and description==
The bridge is first documented in 1538<ref name="BLB">{{Cadw|num=20716|desc=Crickhowell Bridge (partly in Crickhowell community)|grade=I||access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> and is believed to have existed since medieval times, originally constructed from timber.<ref name="Report 2">{{cite web |title=Crickhowell Bridge Survey – River Usk, Fish Passage Proposals |url=http://www.wyeuskfoundation.org/news/consultations.php |publisher=The Wye Usk Foundation |pages=1/2 |date=8 March 2012 |format=pdf |accessdate=1 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101162453/http://www.wyeuskfoundation.org/news/consultations.php |archive-date=1 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1706 it was completely rebuilt in stone with additional arches,<ref name="BLB" /> at a cost of £400. It was replaced by a temporary  bridge in 1808 after being severely damaged by flooding<ref name="Report 2" /> and the repaired bridge, in 1810, was widened on the northwest (upstream) side (the downstream side remains original to 1706).<ref name="BLB" /> The bridge engineer was Benjamin James (of [Llangattock](/source/Llangattock)) and the cost totalled £2,300.<ref>{{Citation|editor=Skempton, Alec |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers – Volume I – 1500–1830 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jeOMfpYMOtYC&pg=PA357 |publisher=Thomas Telford Publishing |pages=356/7 |year=2002 |isbn=0-7277-2939-X}}</ref> In 1828–30 the northeast end was altered, reducing the upstream length by one arch<ref name="BLB" /> by combining the two largest upstream arches into one.<ref name="Eng Times">{{cite web|title=Crickhowell Bridge |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1377 |publisher=Engineering-Timelines.com |accessdate=1 January 2015}}</ref> The bridge was substantially repaired in 1928 and again in 1979, to repair cracking caused by motor vehicles.<ref name="Report 2" /> In 2011 part of the parapet was demolished by a car, following a [police chase](/source/police_chase).<ref>{{cite news|title=Crickhowell Bridge damaged during police car chase |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-15517782 |work=BBC News |date=31 October 2011 |accessdate=8 January 2015}}</ref>

Crickhowell Bridge is unusual (due to the 1828 alterations) in that it has a different number of arches upstream (12) from downstream (13).<ref name="Report 2" /> On the (original) downstream side, the arches are recessed, though not on the upstream side. The bridge has V-shaped cutwaters to both sides with pedestrian refuges above. Construction is of rubble masonry with flat coping stones on the parapets.<ref name="BLB" /> The bridge is {{convert|128|m|ft}} long and has a minimum width of {{convert|4|m|ft}} between parapets.<ref name="Eng Times" />

The bridge became a Grade I [listed structure](/source/Listed_building) in 1998, being "one of Wales' finest early bridges".<ref name="BLB" /> It is also a [Scheduled monument](/source/Scheduled_monument).<ref>{{Cadw|uid=1703|num=BR005|desc=Crickhowell Bridge|class=SM|access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Grade I listed buildings in Powys](/source/Grade_I_listed_buildings_in_Powys)

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}

{{Commons category|Crickhowell Bridge}}

Category:Bridges over the River Usk
Category:Transport infrastructure completed in 1706
Category:Grade I listed bridges in Wales
Category:Grade I listed buildings in Powys
Category:Road bridges in Wales
Category:Bridges completed in 1706
Category:Stone bridges in the United Kingdom
Category:Bridges in Powys
Category:Crickhowell

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Crickhowell Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crickhowell_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crickhowell_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.