Town Bridge - High Street, Bedford, UK - Arch Bridges on Waymarking.com

This attractive stone, arch bridge spans the river with five large arches. You can walk underneath the arches at the south end when the river is not flooded. Families enjoy feeding the swans and ducks here.

The centre arch is 3.3m high and the bridge marks the end of The Embankment area of town. There is some interesting history available here with thanks:visit link

'A ford from earliest times, the site of Bedford bridge has yielded roman and medieval coins. Edward the Elder occupied the town and built a burh south of the river in 915. It is possible that the first bridge was constructed to link the southern burh with an existing settlement north of the river. George Noble's engraving depicts the first stone bridge, known as The Great Bridge, with a toll booth (on the left) and what was possibly the chapel of St Thomas on the right. Both buildings were demolished in 1765. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1803 for the improvement of Bedford and the rebuilding of the dilapidated and decaying bridge. The remnants of the first bridge are seen being removed in the oil by George Arnald. The replacement bridge designed by John Wing, and seen in Robert Havell's lithograph, was completed in 1813. The width of the bridge was doubled in 1938 to the size we know today.'

There are several interesting plaques on the bridge which are featured in the gallery.

Length of bridge: 50m Height of bridge: 5m What type of traffic does this bridge support?: Motor Vehicles, Pedestrians What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: River Great Ouse Date constructed: 1813 Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: Yes Name of road or trail the bridge services: High Street Location: Bedford

Visit Instructions:
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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/23/2016 Master Mariner visited it