Farndon Bridge (That Part In Cheshire, Scheduled Ancient Monument)

Farndon Bridge, dating from around 1345, is constructed of red sandstone and features five arches over the river, with one flood arch on the east (Farndon) side and two on the west (Holt) side in Clwyd. The abutments were likely rebuilt and widened in the early 19th century. The bridge has cutwaters and deep segmental arches that consist of two rings of voussoirs, with the inner ring recessed and the outer ring chamfered. There is a projecting cyma-moulded band at road level. The westernmost river arch (in Clwyd) has a single ring of voussoirs that rises into the parapet above a flatter lower arch, which may have been added in the 20th century. Tradition holds that the bridge was fortified, and this altered arch may have replaced a draw-span. The western (Clwyd) abutment, angled to the bridge, features a rebuilt eastern flood arch, and the moulded band has been removed from the abutments and flood arches. A late 20th-century mild steel rail with one bar on each side is present on the flush-coped parapet. Between the flood arches and abutments, the medieval bridge remains unwidened and largely unaltered.