Bow Bridge

Bow Bridge is a late 17th-century bridge over the Gara stream, with a date noted as 168-. It was widened in the 18th or 19th century. The bridge is constructed of local slate rubble and features a dressed slate arch ring. It has a single span with a dressed slate segmental arch that springs from straight jambs with chamfered imposts. The low stone rubble parapets are adorned with vertical slate lacing and extend over long abutments. Inside the northwest parapet, there is a stone plaque that reads, "This Bridge was built by County .......... 168-", although part of the inscription is illegible. Originally, the bridge was about 12 feet wide, but it was widened on the southeast downstream side by approximately 7 feet, as indicated by a masonry joint on the underside of the arch. James Green, the County Surveyor of Bridges, noted in 1809 that Bow Bridge, located on "the great road from Kingsbridge to Dartmouth," had a roadway of only 6 feet at that time. This suggests that if it is the same bridge, it would have been widened on the upstream northwest side, contrary to previous assumptions about the downstream side.