Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales
Nantlle Tramway River Bridge
Bontnewydd, Gwynedd, Wales
The record
- Designation
- Listed building, Grade II
- Broad class
- Transport
- Date of designation
- 9 September 1999
- Locality
- Bontnewydd
- Town
- Caernarfon
- Community
- Bontnewydd
- Unitary authority
- Gwynedd
- Country
- Wales
- Coordinates
- 53.11485, -4.27242
- Cadw reference
- 22281
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1883 "Watershed map England, Wales 3." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Cadw's description
Location
The Bridge spans Afon Gwyrfai on the west side of Bontnewydd.
History
The Nantlle Railway Act was passed in 1825, and the tramway opened in 1828. The tramway was built to connect Talysarn in the slate-quarrying area of Dyffryn Nantlle with Caernarfon. The initiative for the railway came from the proprietors of the Cilgwyn, Penybryn and Talysarn Quarries, who first mooted the idea for a tramway in 1813, to reduce the heavy shipment costs of transporting slate by road. The railway was built by a joint stock company, with Robert Williams of Bangor as resident engineer, Robert Stephenson (junior) and William Owen of Gwaenfynydd as contractors in consultation with George Stephenson. It was built with a 3'6" (1.067m) gauge. The line was taken over by the Caernarvonshire Railway and converted to standard gauge in 1867, and the bridge was then abandoned. The railway is an early example of a public railway, the first public line to serve the slate quarry industry in Wales.
Exterior
Single span narrow bridge over river. Rubble masonry, with high arch. Some loss of stonework in spandrels of archway.
Reason for designation
Listed as a fine example of an early railway engineering on an important transport route associated with the growth of quarrying in N Wales. The bridge retains its original character and is a significant relic of this important early tramway.
Nearby in the register
- Former railway bridge at BontnewyddTransportunder 1 mi
- Plas-y-bontDomesticunder 1 mi
- ArosfaDomesticunder 1 mi
- Ty Capel SiloamReligious, Ritual and Funeraryunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.