Bridge Street, Llanrwst, Conwy County, Wales,

Street View of Pont Fawr Bridge | Map of Pont Fawr Bridge location

Pont Fawr is a steep and elegant three-arch stone bridge that crosses the Conwy River in Llanrwst, Conwy County, North Wales. The bridge is reputed to have been designed by Inigo Jones and was built in 1636 by Sir John Wynn of Gwydir Castle. This is evidenced by a plaque on the south-east face of the bridge dated 1636. The bridge is so narrow as to allow single file traffic only, thus causing many a heated argument at the top of the bridge and bringing a new meaning to the words "cross over the bridge". The bridge connects the town with Gwydir, a manor house dating from 1492, the fifteenth-century courthouse known as Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (now a popular cafe and tea rooms) and also with the road from nearby Trefriw. Originally built to carry horses and carts, the poor old bridge now has to stand up to modern traffic and I fear it is only a matter of time before irreversible damage is done to this jewel in the crown of the Conwy Valley. Several incidents have occurred in recent years and some of the repairs are of extremely poor quality. The local authority needs to act now and restrict the weight limits for the bridge or we will have a Cumbria type bridge disaster on our hands. ....