The Long Bridge
From about the fourteenth century the river was crossed at this point by a wooden bridge. The completion of the canal caused an increase in heavy traffic over the river so the wooden bridge was replaced by this stone one in 1826. It was designed to be a wider structure, but the landowners paying for it did not want to spend that much money, so a narrower design was adopted, much to the dismay of the architect. Unfortunately the bridge proved to be too narrow and there were several accidents upon it, including a Mrs Tomley, who was crushed to death In 1857 the footpaths, supported by iron arches, were added to make the bridge a little less dangerous.
During the floods of 1960 and 1964, the bridge could be accessed at the Penygloddfa side of the river, but Broad Street was under several feet of water.
Did you know?
With growing industry in the town the original wooden bridge was not strong enough for the growing traffic, this was replaced with a stone bridge in 1826.
The stone bridge was meant to be much wider than the design adopted and it soon needed footpaths that were supported by iron arches on the side of the bridge.
The long bridge and Broad Street used to flood regularly 1964 saw Broad Street under several feet of water.
The bridge is one of Newtown’s iconic structures and it sits proudly at the top of the town main street.
