Redbrook Incline Bridge
Redbrook Incline Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 51°47′21″N 2°40′24″W / 51.7892°N 2.6732°W |
| Crosses | B4231 Road |
| Locale | Redbrook, Gloucestershire, England / Monmouthshire, Wales |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Tram bridge |
| Material | Old Red Sandstone |
| History | |
| Construction start | 1810 |
| Construction end | 1812 |
| Closed | mid-19th century |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Redbrook Incline Bridge over B4231 |
| Designated | 10 August 2005 |
| Reference no. | 85227 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Incline Overbridge, at NGR SO 536102 |
| Designated | 24 September 1984 |
| Reference no. | 1299263 |
| Reference no. | MM203 |
| Location | |
 | |
The Redbrook Incline Bridge is a nineteenth-century tramway bridge that crosses the B4231 road at Redbrook on the England–Wales border. The bridge straddles the border and stands in the counties of Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. It was built as a branch line from the Monmouth Tramroad to transport coal to the Redbrook Tinplate Works and was constructed on a significant incline as a consequence of its standing well below the main tramway. It is a remarkable survival of 19th-century industrialisation in the Wye Valley and is both a Grade II* and a Grade II listed structure, and a scheduled monument.[a]
History and description[edit]
The Monmouth Tramroad was a horse-drawn railway between Monmouth and Coleford in Gloucestershire. It opened in 1812 and closed in the late 19th century.[1][2] The Redbrook Incline Bridge was constructed as part of a branch line from the main tramroad to serve the Redbrook Tinplate Works.[3][2] Grace's Guide to British Industrial History suggests it was also used to transport coal out of the Forest of Dean to the River Wye for onward transportation.[4]
The bridge is constructed of Old Red Sandstone, and forms a single arch, approximately 3.25 metres high, over the B4231 Road.[2] The bridge is 6 metres wide, with high parapets, the width indicating its function as a self-acting incline bridge, with two parallel rails running its length.[2]
The bridge is listed at Grade II* by Cadw[2] and at Grade II by Historic England.[5] It is also a scheduled monument.[6]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Somewhat oddly, Cadw, with responsibility for the Welsh end of the bridge, and Historic England, with responsibility for the end in England, have awarded different listing statuses to the bridge.
References[edit]
- ^ "Redbrook Incline Overbridge (34994)". Coflein. RCAHMW. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Cadw. "Redbrook Incline Bridge over B4231, Monmouth (Grade II*) (85227)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Lower Wye Valley HLCA015". Ggat.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ "Redbrook industries". Graces Guide. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ Historic England. "Incline Overbridge, at NGR SO 536102 (1299263)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ Cadw. "Redbrook Incline Overbridge (MM203)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
