Former Bridgend Tramroad bridge over Nant Cynffig

Cadw's description

Location

Located in the Nant Cynffig on a footpath leading N from Fountain Road, which crosses a railway line to Parc Slip Nature Park. The railway is immediately N of the bridge.

History

Built to carry the Bridgend Railway, a horse-drawn railway built between 1827 and 1830 between Bridgend and the Dyffryn Llynfi and Porthcawl Railway, which in turn linked the area with the harbour at Porthcawl. The engineer for the railway was John Hodgkinson, who began as principal assistant to Benjamin Outram and became a leading early railway engineer in his own right, responsible for several important lines in South Wales and the Midlands. The railway opened in 1830 and was absorbed into the South Wales Railway in 1861 but abandoned by 1864.

Exterior

Single-arched bridge of coursed rubble sandstone, which has a round arch with tooled voussoirs and quoins. The abutments are swept out slightly. Above the arch is a shallow string course. Originally there was no parapet, but timber posts and iron rails have been added.

Reason for designation

A rare example of an early railway bridge and an important component of the early industrial history of the district.