Cantlop Bridge

Cantlop Bridge is a bridge over the Cound Brook, built in 1813 to a design approved by Thomas Telford.

The bridge features a cast-iron superstructure and railings, with abutments made of coursed red and grey sandstone that have ashlar dressings. The roadway surface consists of cast-iron deck plates that are tarmacked and now covered with gravel. The deck is supported by five cast-iron transverse members, which rest on four parallel, arched cast-iron ribs. These ribs are braced laterally and create a single segmental span of 9.5 meters. They originate from the stone abutments through a pair of transverse cast-iron plates set in rebates.

The abutments are battered and include moulded string courses and chamfered ashlar quoins, topped with cornices. They curve outward into the river bank on either side, giving the bridge a fan-shaped plan at both ends. Later stone revetment walls are present on the north-west and south-west sides. The elegant cast-iron railings are painted and feature a dog rail, dog bars, and shaped balusters at the ends. A plaque that was once on the bridge, engraved with "THOMAS TELFORD ESQR/ ENGINEER/ 1818," is no longer present.