Farndon Bridge
| Farndon Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Farndon Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 53°05′00″N 2°52′47″W / 53.083373°N 2.879820°W |
| Crosses | River Dee |
| Locale |
Farndon, Cheshire, England and Holt, Wales |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| History | |
| Opened | 1339 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | None |
Farndon Bridge crosses the River Dee and the England-Wales border between the villages of Farndon, Cheshire, England and Holt, Wales (grid reference SJ412544). It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building,[1] and is a scheduled monument.[2][3] In the early 1990s the bridge was restored and renovated and at the same time an archaeological survey was carried out.[4]
The bridge was built in 1339 by Monks from St Werburgh's Abbey Chester. It originally had ten arches with a large gate tower on the fifth arch. In the 18th century the tower was demolished and at some time two of the arches on the Welsh side were lost.[5] The bridge is a narrow structure built of red sandstone with eight arches, of which five are over the river. On the Farndon side is one flood arch and two flood arches are on the Holt side.[1]
Road traffic is single lane and is controlled by traffic lights. There are two narrow footpaths for pedestrians on either side of the road. The bridge was closed for a week in the summer 2014 to allow the Council to undertake a survey of the structure.
The bridge is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of a Welsh prince's two murdered sons, who were drowned in the river.[6]
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester
- Grade I listed buildings in Wrexham
- Listed buildings in Farndon, Cheshire
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Historic England, "Farndon Bridge (1279428)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
- ↑ Pastscape: Farndon Bridge, English Heritage, retrieved 29 March 2008
- ↑ Historic England, "Farndon Bridge (1006758)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 August 2012
- ↑ Royden, Mike, "Farndon-Holt Bridge", Farndon Local History (Mike Royden), retrieved 29 March 2008
- ↑ Ward, S. S, "A Survey of Holt-Farndon Medieval Bridge", Cheshire Past (Chester Archaeological Service): 14–15, retrieved 29 March 2008
- ↑ Holland, Richard (30 July 2009). "BBC - North East Wales - Wrexham's Bridge of Screams". BBC. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
Coordinates: 53°05′00″N 2°52′47″W / 53.083373°N 2.879820°W