Newsham Bridge

Newsham Bridge, built around 1772, is likely the work of Capability Brown. It is constructed of ashlar and features seven unequal arches, with the central arch being the largest. The arches are ribbed on their undersides and are semicircular; while this detail has a Romanesque influence, the overall design is a revival of 14th-century style. On either side of the central arch, there are single statues with gabled canopies that have trefoil arches rising from short wall shafts. These statues represent full-length figures of a male and a female religious figure, likely honoring the nearby Premonstratensian monastic site. The principal arches of the bridge rise from substantial rounded cutwaters with chamfered tops. The abutments are defined by pairs of stepped buttresses at each end, between which are four-centred arches. The tops of the octagonal end piers rise to coped terminals, featuring panels with recessed cusped motifs in a simplified Gothic style. The upper parts of the bridge are adorned with various motifs, including recessed quatrefoils on the central section of the parapet, an enriched concave moulded string course below, zones of cusped panels containing shields on either side of the central panel, and triangular motifs in the spandrels of the arches flanking the central one. The parapet is gently ramped upwards towards the center, and the ends of the bridge are swept.