SNN115678 - Oundle Bridge North Station Road, Oundle, Northamptonshire

In September 2018 Cotswold Archaeology was commissioned by Kier WSP on behalf of Northamptonshire County Council/ Northamptonshire Highways to undertake an historic building assessment of the Grade II Listed Oundle Bridge North. This single carriageway bridge carries the A427 across the River Nene and backwaters. The Bridge is a statutorily listed structure, having two entries on the National Heritage List for England. Concerns have arisen over the structural integrity of the bridge and a 30mph speed limit has been implemented, with proposals to restrict the maximum weight of traffic able to cross the bridge. Repair and strengthening works are consequently required to address these issues of structural stability and two methods are currently under consideration, both designed to be of a minimally intrusive nature cosmetically in order that the current form and appearance of the Bridge remains unchanged. An earlier, medieval bridge at the current location was destroyed by flood waters in 1570 and subsequently completely rebuilt in 1571. Since this date the extant Bridge has been subject to several phases of repair, rebuilding and widening works, with the result that the 1571 Bridge has now either been largely replaced with, or encased within later work. Notable dates for these rebuilding and widening phases include 1756, 1855, 1912-1914 and 1946. With regard to this, three key construction phases have been identified; the original 1571 stone masonry structure, a later phase of widening and repair utilising red stock brick circa 1835 and a final, major widening and strengthening phase carried out using blue engineering bricks between 1912 and 1914. An assessment of the Bridge structure undertaken as part of this assessment has shown that the arches spanning the main channel of the Nene and the largest of the backwaters, which are likely to have been subject to the greatest forces during periods of flooding, have been substantially, if not entirely rebuilt in the 20th century. In contrast, a number of arches spanning smaller backwater channels appear to contain elements of the earlier bridge structure, including what is probably the last remaining arch from the original 1571 bridge. These arches collectively also demonstrate the process of repair and widening of the structure over time and most likely owe their survival to being subject to less water pressure during flood events or being more securely founded, off the most active channels. The dates and form of each major phase of works are reflective of and commensurate with evolutions in the demands of transport requirements and associated infrastructure improvements, incorporating changes in materials technology and construction methodology.