Monnow Bridge - Into The 20th Century

Into The 20th Century

From 1889 to 1902, an extensive programme of conservation was carried out on the bridge, this began with the prevention of the potential collapse of the tower by inserting metal rods to tie the two faces of the tower together, the four round plates of the at the ends of these two rods can still be seen. In 1892, work began on the arches and piers of the bridge as it was discovered that riverbed erosion had seriously undermined the piers. This period of conservation was ended with maintenance being carried out on the gate tower exterior from the mid-1890s to 1897. Roof guttering and downpipes were added, badly eroded stone was replaced with squared blocks of old red sandstone and the cruciform arrow slit on the front, left, of the tower was restored to make it symmetrical. In April 1893, the bridge's first street lamp was erected by the town council. In the late 1920s the top portion was replaced with twin electric lamps. In the 1960s the lamp was removed completely and since 1991 the bridge has been floodlit

During the 20th century, the growth of traffic using the road, with resulting accidents and congestion on what was a humpback bridge with poor visibility and narrow approach roads, led to many proposals to by-pass the bridge. The structure was first formally recognised as an Ancient Monument in 1923, and proposals for a new road bridge began to be made about the same time. The new A40, built in 1965/66 relieved the town of much through traffic, and a town centre plan prepared by the District Council in 1981 proposed a new bridge. A serous accident on 18 May 1982, when a double decker bus attempted to cross into Monmouth, closed the bridge for a month while major repairs were performed.

A feasibility study was made in 1999 by engineers Ove Arup and Partners for a bridge further along from the Monnow bridge, but the scheme came to nothing. However, a new road bridge over the Monnow, for local traffic within the town, was eventually built and opened on 15 March 2004, allowing the old bridge to become pedestrianised. The project also meant the demolition of the old cattle market. To commemorate the Millennium, a ceramic mosaic was installed by Monmouth Town Council. The circular plinth is made of 40 tiles that illustrate over 2,000 years of local history. The image of the bridge is recognised as an icon representing the town (see image from "The Interactives" magazine).