New Bridges

Heritage listing

Details HEMINGFORD GREY 992/7/17 LONDON ROAD 04-NOV-82 (East side) New Bridges LONDON ROAD New Bridges GV II* Also in Fenstanton Civil Parish. Bridge dated 1822 on plaque. Designed probably T G Elger of Bedford for the Bury-Stratton Turnpike Trust. William Biggs surveyor and John Turner probably master builder. Carved plaque now much eroded inscribed 'John Turner 1822'. Yellow gault brick, mostly stone coping to parapet with C19 brick replacement and other repairs. Fifty-five segmental arches divided by brick buttresses of two stages, lower stage with cut-water. Band at road level. HISTORY: Recent research has shown that the bridges were built by the Bury-Stratton Turnpike Trust although the causeway was owned by the Duke of Manchester. After the necessary loan was paid off the bridges too would become the property of the Duke. One of the trustees, John Margetts, offered a loan of £5,000 at 5% to cover all the costs, and he also provided all the bricks from his local brickworks. The architect was most probably Thomas Gwyn Elger of Bedford and William Biggs was the surveyor. The master builder appears to have been John Turner. Work began on April 8th 1822 and the 55 arches were completed in a remarkable 23 weeks. Around 1, 250 000 bricks were used. The causeway is some 700 feet long, and although there was some strengthening of a few arches when the railway was constructed across it in 1847, employing a level crossing, the causeway has only been repaired rather than widened, and much of the stone coping survives. SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: This 55 arched, single structure is a unique causeway in the UK in that it is the longest road causeway with the greatest number of continuous brick arches. It predates the brick viaducts of the railway era and is a very significant exampl

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.