CHAP. VIT. 



BEWDLEY BRIDGE. 



307 





about the same time amongst others, in planning a new 

 bridge for the town of Bridgenorth ; " in short," he says, 

 " I have been at it night and day." So uniform a success 

 had heretofore attended the execution of his designs, 

 that his reputation as a bridge-builder was universally 

 acknowledged. " Last week," he says, " Davidson and 

 I struck the centre of an arch of 76 feet span, and this 

 is the third which has been thrown this summer, none 

 of which have shrunk a quarter of an inch." 



Bewdley Bridge is a handsome and substantial piece 

 of masonry. The streets upon each side being on low 

 ground, it w r as 

 necessary to pro- 

 vide land arches 

 at both ends for 

 the passage of 

 the flood waters ; 

 and as the Se- 1 

 vern was navi- 

 gable at the 

 point crossed, it 

 was considered 

 necessary to 

 provide much 

 greater width in 

 the river arches 

 than had been 

 the case in the former structure. The arches were 

 three in number one of 60 feet span and two of 

 52 feet, the land arches being 9 feet span. The 

 works were proceeded with and the bridge was com- 

 pleted during the summer of 1798, Telford writing to 

 his friend, in December of that year " We have had 

 a remarkably dry summer and autumn ; after that an 

 early fall of snow and some frost, followed by rain. 

 The drought of the summer was unfavourable to our 

 canal working ; but it has enabled us to raise Bewdley 



BEWDLEY BRIDGE. [By Percival Bkelton.] 



