Cantlop Bridge
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Cantlop Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Cantlop Bridge in 2016 | |
| Coordinates | 52°39′06″N 2°42′53″W / 52.6518°N 2.7148°W |
| Carries | disused since the 1970s |
| Crosses | Cound Brook |
| Locale | Cantlop, Shropshire |
| Heritage status | Grade II* listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Cast-iron |
| Total length | 9.5 metres (31 ft) |
| No. of spans | 1 |
| History | |
| Designer | Thomas Telford |
| Construction end | 1818 |
| Location | |
 | |
Cantlop Bridge is a single span cast-iron road bridge over the Cound Brook, located to the north of Cantlop in the parish of Berrington, Shropshire. It was constructed in 1818 to a design possibly by Thomas Telford, having at least been approved by him,[1] and replaced an unsuccessful cast iron coach bridge constructed in 1812.[2] The design of the bridge was innovative for the period, using a light-weight design of cast-iron lattice ribs to support the road deck in a single span, and appears to be a scaled-down version of a Thomas Telford bridge at Meole Brace, Shropshire. The bridge is the only surviving Telford-approved cast-iron bridge in Shropshire,[1] and is a Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument. It originally carried the turnpike road from Shrewsbury to Acton Burnell.
Present-day
Thomas Telford worked as the county surveyor of Shropshire between 1787 and 1834, and the bridge is reported to have once held a cast iron plate above the centre of the arch inscribed with "Thomas Telford Esqr - Engineer - 1818", which is apparently visible in historic photographs, but has not been in place since at least 1985.[2] The bridge design incorporates dressed red and grey sandstone abutments with ashlar dressings, these are slightly curved and ramped, with chamfered ashlar quoins, string courses, and moulded cornices.[2] The structural cast-iron consists of a single segmental span with four arched lattice ribs, braced by five transverse cast-ironmembers. The road deck is formed from cast-iron metal deck plates, tarmacked over, and now finished with gravel. The original parapets have at some point been replaced with painted cast-iron railings with dograils, dogbars and shaped end balusters.[2]
The bridge today remains as a monument only, being closed to vehicular traffic. It was bypassed by a more modern adjacent concrete bridge built in the 1970s. It is in the care of English Heritage and is freely accessible to pedestrians. A layby exists for visitors to park and there is an information board.
