Llangynidr Bridge

About

Llangynidr Bridge, also known as "Coed-yr-Ynys Bridge", is an early 18th-century bridge that crosses the River Usk to the north of Llangynidr, Powys, Wales. It carries the B4560 road towards Bwlch. The existing stone bridge dates from approximately 1700, and is thought by some to be the oldest bridge on the River Usk.

It replaced an earlier bridge that was located 500m further west; the sale deeds of a local smithy, dated 1630, contain the first known reference to that earlier bridge, which itself replaced a wooden bridge shown on a land survey of 1587. Llangynidr Bridge lies in the Hundred (county division) of Crickhowell and is similar in style to the Crickhowell Bridge over the Usk, which dates from 1706. It has six arches, which vary in span from 22 to 30 feet, divided by v-shaped cutwaters topped by pedestrian refuges and parapets with plain coping stones.

The cutwaters continue up to the parapet, in order to provide spaces for pedestrians to stand to avoid wheeled traffic crossing the bridge. It is 69 m (230 ft) long and the road is 2.4 m (8 ft) wide. It is considered a particularly impressive example because of its height - reducing the danger of flooding - and its location...