CPAT Regional Sites & Monuments Record

PRN 30753 - Welshpool, Union Bridge
Listed Building 7856 (II )

Wall of red engineering brick with rounded stone coping has in raised central section 2 inscriptions in stone. Upper is headed in Modern Romans "Unions Bridge" and states, in Romans: "Built 1817/on the happy Union of the/Powis and Wynnstay families/and at the expense of the fund/for the employment of the poor/Under the direction of the acting/committee of WelshPool". Lower inscription sans-serif and becoming illegible, reads:"The inscribed stone above, originally inserted in the opposite parapet, was re-fixed in its present position by the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway Company, January 1902".

(Former listing description)

The following is from Cadw's Listed Buildings database

The history of the bridge is recorded on the 2 stone panels: "Union Bridge Built 1817 on the happy Union of the Powis and Wynnstay Families at the expense of the Fund for the Employment of the Poor Under the direction of the acting Committee of Welshpool"; and "The inscribed stone above [now alongside], originally inserted in the opposite parapet, was refixed in its present position by the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway Company, January 1902". The bridge formerly carried the road over the Lledan Brook, but this was culverted (presumably by the Railway Company in 1902), leaving only a single parapet as a memorial. The railway company, established in 1898, opened the line in 1903. It was finally closed in 1956. The bridge parapet has again been rebuilt since 1981, re-siting both stone panels alongside, rather than over, each other.

Red engineering brick parapet with rounded stone copings. The 2 stone panels were formerly one above the other, with the coping stepped up over them, but are now alongside each other.

The parapet has been partially rebuilt since it was first listed in 1981, but remains listed for the historical interest as recorded in the 2 stone panels.

Ralph Cartwright and R.T.Russell, The Welshpool and Llanfair Railway, 1972.

Sources:-
Cadw , 1981 , Powys: List No. 16 (Welshpool) , 46
Cadw Listing database , 2000 , ,
Additional sources:-
Ralph Cartwright and R.T. Russell, The Welshpool and Llanfair Railway, 1972.

record created 31/12/89 , last updated 20/09/00
The above data are supplied by CPAT in partnership with its Local Authorities and the partners of END, © CPAT SMR partnership, 2003 (and in part © Crown, 2003)

CM - 15/11/03 ( 19:16:35 ) - HTML file produced from CPAT's Regional SMR
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, Curatorial Section, 7a Church Street, Welshpool, Powys SY21 7DL.
tel (01938) 553670 , fax (01938) 552179, email trust@cpat.org.uk , website www.cpat.org.uk