Somerset Rivers
River Brue Structures

West Lydford Bridge

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Bridge Name:   West Lydford Bridge
No.:   23
Location:    
Build Date:   17th Century – Restored 1846
Engineer:    
     
       
 

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Description:    
Masonary road bridge. restored; Coursed and squared lias; 5 slightly flattened semi-circular archways, rough-hewn voussoirs; 4 massive cutwaters with offsets upstream; continuous string below the parapets; 5 small semi-circular archways to each parapet to allow the passage of water when the River Brue is in spate; C20 concrete capping.1 At the Quarter Sessions held in 1632 it was reported that “the two Comon bridges lyinge over the river at West Lidford are now become founderous and are like to be further Decayed without some speedy Course bee forthwith taken to repair them” 2 In 1846 the bridge was restored by Richard Carver who rebuilt the abutments and four cutwaters, repaired the arches, and built blue lias parapets with five segmented floodwater arches.
     
References:   1.Somerset HER id=17381
2. The Ancient Bridges of the South of England by Jervoise.