Swing Bridge, Royal William Victualling Yard is a Grade II* listed building in the Plymouth local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 August 1999. Bridge.
Swing Bridge, Royal William Victualling Yard
- WRENN ID
- odd-frieze-vale
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Plymouth
- Constituency
- Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP: Luke Pollard (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 13 August 1999
- Type
- Bridge
- Address
- Swing Bridge, Royal William Victualling Yard, Cremyll Street, City of Plymouth
- OS grid reference
- SX 460 536
- Coordinates
- 50.36239, -4.16532
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Swing Bridge at the Royal William Victualling Yard is a cast-iron structure built around 1833-1835 by the Horsley Iron Company. It features two matching halves on opposite sides of the entrance to the basin, each made up of four braced plates that support a wooden deck with railings, forming an elliptical arch. The bridge rotates on a cogged wheel and is operated by a handle. The sides of the bridge are marked with the inscription "HORSLEY IRON CO/NEAR/BIRMINGHAM" within a wreath of bay leaves and an anchor.
This bridge is similar in design to another swing bridge from 1838 located in the South Yard of Devonport Dockyard, also made by the Horsley Iron Company. It was designed by engineer John Rennie to enhance circulation around the basin and is recognized for its significance within the context of the Royal William Victualling Yard. This yard is noted as one of the most remarkable and complete early 19th-century industrial complexes in the UK and serves as a unique example of Neo-Classical planning for a state manufacturing site.
Local climate
Swing Bridge, Royal William Victualling Yard sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 990 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 80% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 89% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 9 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 91% of listed buildings. Of these, 3 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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