Footbridge E of Serpentine Pond at Leighton Hall

Cadw's description

Location

Situated to the E of the Serpentine Pond, on the NE side of the landscape gardens at Leighton Hall.

History

Designed by Edward Kemp, a pupil of Joseph Paxton, c1860 and part of the landscape gardens at Leighton Hall where bridges were used to span the natural hollows. Leighton Hall has formal gardens S of the library wing and SE of the Tower. In contrast, NE of the Hall and Tower it has a landscape garden which was planted with trees and shrubs, its woodland walks also contrasting with the terrace walks of the formal garden. The bridge E of the Serpentine Pond forms part of the path through the landscape garden, one of 3 such bridges.

John Naylor, a Liverpool banker, had acquired the Leighton Estate in 1846-47 and embarked on an ambitious programme of building, notably Leighton Hall, church and Leighton Farm, all designed by W.H. Gee and completed by the mid 1850s. Leighton Hall had been constructed 1850-56. John Naylor's grandson, Captain J.M. Naylor, sold Leighton Hall and the Estate in 1931.

Exterior

Triple-arched bridge of coursed, rock-faced Cefn stone with ashlar dressings. Consisting of rusticated Tudor arches, the central arch wider and with a blank shield as a keystone. The outer arches have blind mouchettes in the spandrels and machicolations above. Beneath the parapet is a string course with prominent gargoyles. The parapet consists of stepped pierced trefoil arcading and ramped coping (much of which is now fallen). The abutments have no parapet but similar coping and end in low square piers. The flat deck is laid with modern concrete but the original drainage channels along the parapet survive.

Reason for designation

The Leighton Estate is an exceptional example of high-Victorian estate development. It is remarkable for the scale and ambition of its conception and planning, the consistency of its design, the extent of its survival, and is the most complete example of its type in Wales. Leighton Hall represents the centrepiece of this development, and the garden features are a key element in the setting of the house. The gardens are also a tour-de-force of landscaping and formal design whose individual components are remarkable for their consistency of detail and the extent of their survival. The bridge is listed Grade II* as one of the architectural landmarks of the landscape garden and for the high quality of its design.