Bridge Adjoining Lower Lock

The bridge adjoining Lower Lock is an accommodation bridge built around 1800, designed by engineer John Rennie. It is constructed from limestone ashlar and features a single skewed elliptical arch supported by vertical abutments that connect to the walls of Lower Lock. On the west side, the bridge flares out to meet the River Avon.

The exterior includes flush voussoirs with a triple keystone beneath a plain band, topped with a parapet that has heavy weathered coping. At the junction of the canal and the river, the west side has a square pier with a battered base on the right and a coping that sweeps up to a square capped pier on the left, with return walling leading to swept down coping and a stopped end. The east side has similar details, but the swept coping stops at plain square capped piers on both sides. The parapets and roadway are splayed out at the northern end. The Kennet and Avon Canal, which this bridge serves, opened in 1810.