Chewton Bridge

Chewton Bridge is a road bridge over Walkford Brook, built in 1901. It is constructed of red brick with stone coping and features a concealed reinforced concrete beam. The bridge has a segmental skew arch, with parapets that end in scrolls at the ends of the long abutments. The parapets are cranked over the center, and some of the coping stones have been replaced with concrete. Originally, the bridge was designed with an unusual skew arch that had courses of brick laid at right angles, rather than the typical diagonal coursing for skew arches. However, this design did not meet the approval of the County Surveyor, who required the contractor's engineer to reinforce the bridge with a concrete beam over the brick arch. This beam spans nearly 5 meters and is built to Hennebique's patent specification, remaining completely concealed within the brick structure. Chewton Bridge is notable for being the first reinforced concrete bridge built in Britain.