Hereford Wye Bridge (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Hereford.
In the historic county of Herefordshire.
Modern Authority of Herefordshire.
1974 county of Hereford and Worcester.
Medieval County of Herefordshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SO50813958
Latitude 52.05219° Longitude -2.71867°

Hereford Wye Bridge has been described as a certain Fortified Bridge.

There are masonry footings remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Rebuilt and widened in 1826, much repaired since. On site of wooden bridge supposedly dating from pre Conquest times; possibly rebuilt in stone in the 14th century, rebuilt with gatehouse at the south end in 1490, damaged and rebuilt during siege of 1645. (PastScape)

Crosses river near SW end of town. Of sandstone rubble faced with ashlar. A wooden bridge existed here from pre-Conquest times and from architectural evidence some part of it was rebuilt in stone perhaps in C14. Rebuilt in stone with gate house at S end in 1490. During 1645, 3rd bay from N broken down, subsequently rebuilt together with much of the piers and cut waters. In 1826 bridge was widened and subsequently frequently repaired. Bridge of 6 bays, first from N has a late C15 4 centred arch of 2 chamfered orders. 2nd bay late C15, 4 centred arch, 3rd bay has C17 segmental arch, 4th bay late C15, 4 centred arch. 5th bay, late C15 arch with modern widening on each side. 6th bay has C18 or modern segmental arch supporting second arch probably of C17 or earlier. Modern widening on each side. All piers have cut waters and triangular refuges at road level (RCHME 1931).
It had been previously thought that Wye Bridge, Hereford, from its structural style and from Duncumbs history that the bridge was built in the 15th century. Documentary evidence, however, shows that a bridge was first mentioned here as early as the first quarter of the 12th century and that it was in need of repair by 1230. During a watching brief on roadworks approaching the bridge very little of archaeological interest was noted. The most important feature was a patch of cobbled surface, just below the level of the tarmac road on the south approach to the bridge, representing remains of an earlier street level (Elsel and Rouse 2000).
During resurfacing of the bridge in 2000 the stone work was recorded at 1:20 scale. It was noted that the key-stone in the tops of the arches had been truncated during strengthening work in the Second World War and that elements of an earlier bridge survive within the fabric of the current monument (Mould and Watt 2000). (Herefordshire HER)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1005521, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number he21
National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1196768
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 110146.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 387; 449.

Books
- Lobel, M.D., 1969, 'Hereford' in Lobel, M.D. (ed), Historic Towns: Maps and Plans of Towns and Cities in the British Isles, with Historical Commentaries, from Earliest Times to 1800 Vol. 1 (London: Lovell Johns-Cook, Hammond and Kell Organization) p. 1-11 online copy
  RCHME, 1931, An inventory of the historical monuments in Herefordshire Vol. 1: south-west p. 127-8 no.6 online transcription
Periodical Articles
- Harrison, D., McKeague, P. and Watson, B., 2010, 'England's fortified medieval bridges and bridge chapels: a new survey' Medieval Settlement Research Vol. 25 p. 45-51 online copy
  Mould, C. and Watt, S., 2000, 'Reports, Herefordshire' West Midlands Archaeology Vol. 43
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Bruce Watson, 2013 Sept, Gazetteer of fortified bridges (working list kindly shared with Gatehouse)
  Eisel, J & Rouse, D., 2000, Wye Bridge Approaches, Hereford: A Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief.. Archaeological Investigations Ltd. 454. Rep No. 454.

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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