Written by John Addis from Crickhowell:
"In the 17th century, Crickhowell Bridge was believed to have had wooden piers. The county rebuilt the bridge in 1706 for the sum of £400.
During 1808, a flood destroyed the bridge and a temporary bridge was erected. Crickhowell Bridge was widened and repaired in 1809 and the builder was Benjamin James of Llangattock. The cost of the contract, with maintenance for seven years, was £2,300.
An interesting feature of the bridge is that there are twelve arches on one side and thirteen on the other. Extensive repairs were again carried out in 1928 and the builder was A J Addis, whose yard was in Bridge Street.
During the year of 1979, heavy modern day traffic caused cracks to appear in the structure. Urgent repairs were needed so a temporary bridge was erected by the side of the old bridge. The temporary bridge was called a Bailey bridge, (used by the armed forces).
When repairs were completed to Crickhowell Bridge, the "Bailey" bridge was dismantled and taken to replace the old toll bridge between Gilwem and Glangrwyney. This was a privately owned toll bridge and was later taken over by the county and the tolls were then taken off. The bridge is still known as the halfpenny bridge."
Written by John Addis from Crickhowell.
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your comments
John Addis, Crickhowell
A photo of the bridges can be seen in Crickhowell Yesterday Vol.1 plate.224 the 2 bridges were unharmed large trees and logs were washed under the bailey bridge and they all jamed against the arches of the stone bridge causing the flood to get even higher in the surrounding areas. The road to the access to the bailey bridge was washed away. After the repairs to the old bridge were completed, ( the repairs were needed after the volume of traffic before the flood not by the flood)The bailey Bridge was dismantled and put in place at the site of the old halfpenny bridge Llangrwyney and is stil there
Wed Feb 17 12:17:48 2010
Phil Bailey, Crickhowell
The Bailey bridge was virtually 'dismantled' by a flood which occured at the time! Whilst the original bridge was almost unharmed. So much for modern engineering!
Wed Nov 7 10:47:28 2007
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Local historian and Crickhowell resident John Addis writes about the history of the town's bridge and the many repairs which the structure has undergone over the centuries. 
