Mill Bridge And Weir With Walls And Railings Adjoining

ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA

SP3265NW JEPHSON GARDENS 1208-1/9/186 Mill Bridge and Weir with walls and 18/08/80 railings adjoining

II

Suspension bridge, weir, retaining walls, walls and piers, surmounting lamps and railings. Dated 1903. By William de Normanville, Borough Engineer. Stone walls with brick core, redstone dressings, sandstone ashlar plaque, cast-iron balustrade, supports and lamps. Bridge approximately 26 metres in 3 bays and with end towers; retaining walls to east side of approximately 7 metres length, 1 metre high to pedestrian side, approximately 8 metres to water side and with support wall approximately 1.5 metres in length x 1 metre high for suspensions; retaining walls to west side curved on plan, approximately 7 metres long and of similar height to east. Bridge has pairs of end towers (alike) with latticed ironwork surmounted by pointed finials, round-arched opening between has central hanging light. Balustrade has lower band of zig-zag ironwork, then panels of circle-and-x-within-square, rounded handrail. Suspension stays converge at two points and project beyond towers to supporting walls. Walls to pedestrian side have chamfered plinth, 3 courses of rough-cut, 'rustic' stone, surmounted by elliptical copings. Square piers at ends have chamfered plinth, 4 'rustic' courses and peaked copings. Inscription plaque to south-west pier. To water side each wall forms a part-horseshoe shape and piers become stepped, splayed buttresses; 2 further pilaster buttresses with chamfered plinths, stepped to upper section, one buttress to each side surmounted by cast-iron lamp stands decorated with anthemion motifs (lamp filling missing). Above water-level to each side are 2 round-arched niches with voussoirs to heads. Inscription, partly eroded, reads at time of review: '...AND THE ADJOINING GARDENS /...OPENED BY THE MAYOR /.... WILLIAM DAVIS C. C. / ..UNE 24TH 1903 /...MURRAY MOLESWORTH. J.D.-C.C. /... OF THE HIGHWAY COMMITTEE. /...NCILLOR CHARLES PURER /...THE PARKS & GARDENS COMMITTEE / ...W. DE NORMANVILLE ...'. To south side at east and west are lancet railings, that to east with octagonal gatepiers and double gate. Weir has 5 elliptical steps. (Storrie J: William Louis de Normanville. Engineer, Architect and Inventor: Royal Leamington Spa: 48-55).

Listing NGR: SP3211965552