Redbrook Railway Bridge

Cadw's description

Location

On the eastern boundary of Trellech Community crossing the river to Redbrook on the boundary of Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire.

History

This bridge was built in 1876 by the Monmouth and Wye Valley Railway and was taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1908. The engineers of the line were S H Yockney and Son of Westminster and the contractors were Messrs Reed Bros of London. It was a single track line with passing places. The line was closed in 1964 and is now partly a footpath belonging to Monmouthshire County Council; the bridge has been kept because the footbridge, which was added to the railway bridge in 1955, carries the Wye Valley Walk across the river.

Exterior

This bridge is constructed of wrought and cast iron and has a steel and concrete footbridge attached to the upstream side. It has five spans of wrought iron girders with the single track line running within the girders. The bridge is quite sharply curved and the spans are each a separate girder and these are carried on paired cast iron tubular piers with cross-bracing between. These piers are set at right angles to the current with the spans sharply skewed. The footbridge is attached with steel brackets to the upstream side. The eastern end of the bridge is in Redbrook CP, Gloucestershire.

Reason for designation

Included as an unusually interesting survival of an all metal railway bridge dating from 1876 in an exceptional location.