Old stone bridge's fourth arch revealed after hundreds of years
N 51° 30.404 W 003° 34.836
30U E 459705 N 5706337
The Old Bridge - A medieval stone, double arch bridge, built in 1425. The 4th arch bridge structure, was discovered behind a wall in an office building’s basement could date back to medieval times. Located in Pen-y-Bont (Bridgend) South Wales.
Waymark Code: WMTGEV
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/21/2016
Views: 2
Yr Hen Bont - The Old Bridge - A medieval stone, double arch bridge, built in 1425-AD for horse & carts, enabling pilgrims & pedestrians to cross the River Ogmore, into the heart of the town.
According to a plaque near the bridge: The bridge was built in 1425, repaired in 1775 and restored in 2005. The Cobble stone footpath over the bride, was renewed in 2011. The bridge is a scheduled ancient monument and a grade II listed structure.
"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". Pilgrims would have used the bridge to cross the River Ogmore on their way to St David's Cathedral.
The stone bridge is believed to have been built around 1425 with five-spans. It is not known who designed and built the bridge. The five-span structure had three river arches and smaller flood arches on each bank. 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. The arches were then rebuilt as a single arch of double span.
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. A third arch is only visible in the rear yard of an office building, built around 1830. In early 2015, the fourth arch of bridge was discovered for the first time in hundreds of years. It was found behind a wall in the basement of the same office.
The Old Bridge stone plaque
The bridge was last used by motor vehicles in 1920. In 2005 the bridge was restored and again in 2011 with its cobbled footway re-laid using traditional lime mortar. The bridge now has statutory protection as a scheduled ancient monument (GM049) and grade II* listed structure. It is still used as a footbridge with the width of the bridge being 2.6 m (8.5 ft)." Text Source: (
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