Pontypridd Old Bridge, Bridges Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff - Wales where to go, what to see and where to stay in Wales

Pontypridd Bridge is an arched single-span footbridge that spans the River Taff at Pontypridd in South Wales. The bridge is also known as the Old Bridge, or the William Edwards Bridge, but just to confuse matters was originally known as the New Bridge. The bridge was built by William Edwards and was completed in 1756.<br><br> Although the bridge stands as an iconic feature of Pontypridd to this day, William Edward’s had to struggle to construct the bridge, and the bridge that we see today is the fourth bridge that he built to span the Taff. <br><br> The original three-arch stone bridge that spanned the Taff was washed away following debris being trapped against the arches in a storm. Edwards decided to solve the problem by constructing a single arch bridge.<br><br> His first three attempts failed, all collapsing into the River Taff, but Edward’s was nothing if not determined and he persevered to the successful completion of the fourth and final bridge. <br><br> Pontypridd now had the longest single span bridge in Great Britain, the 140 ft bridge remained the longest bridge for another 40 years, and was also one of the few bridges in Europe, and indeed worldwide, whose span exceeded the 40 m mark.<br><br> The problem with the Old Bridge was that it was so steep that it made it very difficult to get horse carts to go across it. By 1857, a new bridge, the Victoria Bridge, was built next to the Old Bridge, which was paid for by the people of Pontypridd. The Victoria Bridge is a three-arch bridge, that was built by Thomas Jenkins, this overcame many of the problems with the steepness of the Old Bridge.