Cornford Bridge

Road bridge of c1480 with repairs and restorations of the C18, 1994 and early C21.

MATERIALS: of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar dressings.

DESCRIPTION: the bridge is aligned north-west to south-east and carries a road of c3m in width across the Caundle Brook. It consists of three spans of pointed arches of which those on the south-west (upstream) side have a double order of voussoirs. Only one arch on the north-east (downstream) side has this treatment. Between the arches are rubble piers. On the south-west side these have triangular-shaped cutwaters with ashlar facing which extend upwards to create pedestrian refuges. Vertical slits incised into the cutwaters appear to be an embellishment rather than having a practical use. On the north-east side the south pier has a coursed rubble cutwater but no refuge above. Its north pier retains a medieval weathered buttress of three stages. A moulded string course runs across both faces of the bridge. The parapets are mainly capped with bevelled coping stones. A small section of parapet wall on the north-east side was rebuilt in the early C21 following a vehicle strike.