Carew Bridge

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a bridge, dating to the medieval or post-medieval period situated on an ancient river crossing, now carrying the main Carew to Cresswell trunk road across the ponded Carew River. The construction of a bridge similar to the present one will have begun in the late medieval or Tudor period when the river was obstructed with the construction of the nearby Tidal Mill and barrier associated with Carew Castle. The bridge has three segmental arches, the centre one higher, with cutwaters rising to refuges between, it is built in coursed limestone rubble, the cutwaters and voussoirs hammer-dressed and the parapet in random rubble with large flat copings. The triple-arches at the centre of the bridge probably date to the eighteenth century: there was a bond to keep the bridge in repair in 1730. The bridge middle section had a pronounced hump-backed rise over the arches until at least the nineteenth century when the causeways were raised at some point to give the bridge its present general form. Part of the north causeway was rebuilt in 1938.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of medieval or post-medieval construction techniques and transportation systems. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. It has group value with the associated Castle and the French Tidal Mill.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.