Altarnun Old Bridge

The Altarnun Old Bridge is likely of late medieval origin, though it may be later. It was widened in the early 18th century, and the original width was restored, along with a general bridge restoration, in the 1970s. The bridge crosses the Penpont Water within the village of Altarnun and is built of slatestone rubble with roughly-dressed stone arches and granite coping stones to the parapets. It consists of two semi-circular arches supported by a central pier, which has pointed cutwaters extending upwards on both the downstream and upstream sides. These cutwaters likely originally extended up to the parapets, forming refuges, but were truncated and capped with concrete at the level of the parapet base. The south-east abutment projects asymmetrically on either side of the parapet, following the sloping riverbank. The walls of the north-western abutment converge towards the bridge and are largely rebuilt on the downstream side; this abutment is otherwise largely contained within a steep riverbank and hidden beneath a road. The parapets are also built of slatestone rubble with iron-tied granite coping on the downstream side, curving outwards at the ends. The downstream parapet at the north-west end extends along the riverbank, although much of this section is a lower and broader rebuild with a capping of slate slabs.