Bridge Carrying North Road Over River Beane At Ngr Tl 3148 1373

This bridge, built in 1869, carries North Road over the River Beane and is one of several constructed by Robert Smith, the owner of Goldings. It features red and yellow brick abutments, cast-iron girders, and a cast-iron balustrade. The structure includes riveted plate girders with a moulded cast-iron cover plate above, and the balustrade has pierced panels displaying a pattern of three circles with three triangles above and below. It also has a moulded top rail and columns with a barleysugar twist design topped with pyramidal caps. The yellow brick abutments are accented with stone bands and red recessed panels, while the piers have roll moulded stone caps with low pyramidal tops. The bridge is approached by curved brick parapet walls with stone copings.

Historically, Robert Smith inherited the Goldings estate in 1861, after which he demolished the old mansion, diverted and reconstructed the nearby Watton Turnpike, and built this series of bridges in 1869 to facilitate the road and the drive to Goldings over the Goldings Canal and the mill race of the River Beane.