Caerhowel bridge carries the B4385 road from the A483 at Garthmyl over the River Severn to Montgomery. Originally a timber bridge, like Brynderwen bridge a few miles to the south, it was also swept away in the February 1852 floods. It was replaced shortly afterwards by a suspension bridge built by an Edinburgh contractor to a design patented by James Dredge (of Dredge and Stephenson of London), despite the misgivings of the County Surveyor, Thomas Penson. The magistrates’ decision to commission the Dredge suspension bridge seems to have been driven by considerations of economy. Penson’s concerns were vindicated when the bridge collapsed in 1858 when carrying two wagons, each with a team of four horses. One of the waggoners lost his life. Penson, as County Surveyor, was criticised in the inquiry that followed the bridge collapse for his inadequate supervision of the building of the bridge.

Penson’s bridge which replaced the suspension bridge, consists of two iron arches, each of 70ft 6in (21.5 metres) with stone abutments at each end and a central stone pier – a very elegant structure. As with the Brynderwen bridge, the ironwork was supplied by the Brymbo Company. Penson’s name-plate and the date of 1858 is attached to one of the abutments. The bridge survived mostly unchanged until its renovation in 2003, though its integrity is now assured by a traffic-light controlled single lane.

Text: David Ward