North Bridge On A4146 At Water End Over The River Gade

The North Bridge on the A4146 at Water End spans the River Gade and dates from around 1800, coinciding with the realignment of the road. In 1976, the bridge was restored, and its parapet was raised by two courses by Hertfordshire County Council. The bridge is constructed of red brick with random black headers in English bond, featuring stone string courses and copings along the parapet. It is a long, narrow structure that has a slight hump at the center, consisting of three pointed arches and four brick cutwaters. The brick parapets splay out at the ends and terminate in octagonal brick piers. Unlike the widened South Bridge, this bridge has not been expanded and retains brick cappings on the cutwaters, with a moulded stone string at road level that extends along the abutment walls to the terminal piers. Additionally, there are three moulded circular cast iron tie-rod plates positioned over each arch. Each arch features a chamfered brick rib just inside its mouth, and a chamfered stone offset at the plinth serves as the springing point for the arches. The plinths are linked by a weir located on the upstream side, where the water level is just below the stone offset.