Your History: Usk Bridge

Bridges were erected to make river crossings available throughout the year. The largest Brecon Bridge is the Usk Bridge, allowing the town’s folk to cross to Llanfaes, where the 13th century Dominican friary stood, now Christ College Independent School. It spans the Usk, just below its confluence with the Honddu.

The earliest record of this substantial stone bridge is in Thomas Churchyard’s poem regarding Brecon. Churchyard spoke of it being a new bridge, constructed in 1563, because the original bridge had been swept away by flooding in 1535.

Ogilvy, in 1675, described the bridge as having seven stone arches, with the Coat of Arms of the Stafford family, Dukes of Buckingham. They were Lords of Brecon, and the name is preserved in Buckingham Tower and Place.

Repairs to the Bridge were made in 1772, 1794 and 1801. By the beginning of the 19th century, the bridge had been widened to accommodate more horse drawn transport, which could now pass each other on the bridge.

During the 20th century it was widened further with the addition of metal framed footpaths on either side. In the 1950s a new concrete base was laid on top of the original stone base.

Article Supplied by Breconshire Local & Family History Society