Bedford
Town Bridge

Bedford > Bridges > Town Bridge

No trace remains of Bedford's Medieval Bridge, which was demolished in 1811 and replaced by the present bridge on the same site. The Medieval Bridge became an important factor in the growth and prosperity of Bedford as the next bridge across the river for highway traffic was at St. Neots some thirteen miles away. Tradition has it that the bridge was built from the rubble of Bedford Castle when it was demolished in 1224. In 1765 both gatehouses were removed as they hindered coach traffic across the bridge. There were also frequent problems with flooding. In 1803 the bridge was described as "very ancient, narrow, inconvenient and dangerous". 

John Wing of Bedford designed the new bridge. Work on the bridge began on the 26th April 1811 and the bridge was completed at a cost of 15,137 and opened for public use on the 1st November 1813. At first tolls were charged but this practice was abolished in 1835. With the increase in the volume of traffic by the 1930s plans were drawn up to widen the bridge which started in 1938 and was completed by 1940, the bridge was widened in concrete along the western side. In the early 1980's repairs to the stonework of the bridge were carried out using Portland stone for the architectural details and Clipstone stone for the spandrel walls.

Sources:

• Newspaper Cuttings Collection, Local Studies Library, Bedford Central Library.
• SIMCO, A and McKeague, P.  Bridges of Bedfordshire.  1997.

Bedford Town Bridge, by Bedfordshire Libraries, 2009

Page last updated: 21st January 2014