Wadesmill Bridge Over River Rib in Middle of Village

Wadesmill Bridge is a road bridge over the River Rib, built between 1824 and 1825 by Mr. Robson for the Cheshunt Turnpike Trustees, with contractors Brough & Smith from London. The bridge is constructed from grey and yellow brick, featuring grey granite columns, a string course, haunched beams, and reused limestone copings. It is 31 feet wide and has two semi-circular arches with a span of 25 feet, supported centrally by a row of six unfluted Greek Doric columns made of two drums of grey granite. Each arch has an angled haunching of granite at its springing. The river runs at a slight angle to the road, and a projecting plain brick dripcourse over the 18-inch arch rings conceals any irregularities on the side faces. Each abutment is marked by a stepped pilaster buttress, and a slightly out-curved brick wall, topped by a brick parapet over the granite string course, extends to a square landward pier at each corner. The chamfered stone coping and pier cappings were likely reused from repairs made to the previous bridge in 1767. The original iron latticed side rails of the central spans were replaced with a simpler design after being damaged in 1966. This bridge features an unusual Neo-Classical design and is noted by Branch Johnson as one of the best bridges in the county.