jr. i 



structures, the art of bridge-building seems to have fallen 



into decay until about the middle of last century; and 

 whilst many of the erections of the Brothers of the Bridge 

 con tinned to stand firm on their foundations, as they 

 had done for centuries, the bridges of more modern con- 

 strnctioi i were liable to be swept away by the first winter's 

 Hood. The only mode of securing foundations was the 

 clumsy one of throwing loose stones promiscuously into 

 tlie bed of the river, so as to find their own bearing, and 

 then, on the top of these loose stones, to erect the stone- 

 work of the starlings. The piers were built up on the 

 foundations thus rudely formed; but they were con- 

 stantly liable, as may be readily imagined, to be unsettled, 

 undermined, and carried away by any unusual pressure 

 of water. No architect of eminence devoted himself to 

 bridge-building; and although Inigo Jones furnished 

 the design for the bridge of Llanrwst, over the Con way 

 in Wales, in 1G34, it was a work of a comparatively 

 unimportant character, and the only one of the kind on 

 which lie seems to have been employed. In the plan 

 of this h ridge the pointed arch is no longer adopted, but 

 three segmental arches, the middle of which is of the span 

 of fifty-eight feet. The roadway approached a horizontal 

 line, and was of a sufficient breadth to accommodate 

 carriage traffic. On the whole, the design was of a 

 verv modern character, and was probably adopted, to a 

 considerable extent, as a model by succeeding bridge- 

 builders. The work, however, seems to have been so badly 

 done, that it was shortly after found necessary to rebuild 

 one of the arches; and to this day the bridge is known 

 as k * the shaking bridge," 1 not standing by any means 

 I irmly on its foundations. The people of the locality 



1 A tnurist in Xnrth \Yales says: 

 " While standing mi tin. 1 bridge, ad- 

 miring tin- beautiful scenery, two or 

 three men came and asked me in 

 broken Mnglish ' whether I would 

 like ti have a shake.' On in<iuiry I 



found that the bridge will strongly 

 vibrate by ;i person striking his back 

 forcibly against the parapet of the 

 eentre areh." Parry's 'Cambrian 

 Mirror,' p. 134. 



