Saundersfoot Railway Bridge

Cadw's description

Location

Located on Ford Lake, which is now the Community boundary. The bridge is partly in the Community of Saundersfoot and partly in the Community of Amroth.

History

This bridge is part of the Saundersfoot Railway, which was authorised under an Act of 31 June 1829, promoted by Sir Richard Philipps and others. The branch to Wiseman's Bridge was in use by 1834, and extended to the colliery at Kilgetty in 1836. The railway was laid to the gauge of 4 ft (1.2 m). The railway was never used officially for public transport. In 1874 a locomotive was introduced on this line for the first time, specially constructed for the limited dimensions of the tunnels. The track was re-laid to carry it. The locomotive was a saddle-tank design by Manning Wardle. The railway remained in use until 1939 when the rails were scrapped. The route is now a public walk.

Exterior

Single-arch semicircular skew-bridge in local sandstone with a span of about 2.5 m and a length of about 4 m. Voussoirs about 0.3 m deep, with no embellishment; the facing arch survives only on the upstream side. The upstream river bank on the Amroth side is revetted in stone for a distance of about 10 m. Very little survives of similar reinforcement to the bank on the Saundersfoot side, or either side below the bridge.

Reason for designation

Listed as a significant relic of an exceptionally early railway.