Old Walton Bridge



walton_crop.jpg

Designed by William Etheridge and built 1748-50, The Walton Bridge was much admired for its 'strength, contrivance and remarkable great arch,' and was even described as 'the most beautiful wooden arch in the world ' - beautiful enough for Canaletto to paint it twice - the image above is a crop of one of these paintings. The Walton Bridge's main span was 130 feet, with two side arches of 44 feet. Sadly, it decayed and lasted only 33 years until 1783.

More on the bridge >>here<<

As an aside, there is little more depressing in British architectural culture than the current obsession with so-called high tech bridges. >>Dezeen<< has an example of a particularly >>dull new bridge<< by Grimshaws (almost the worst of the high tech-ers, only beaten to this claim by Wilkinson Ayre, who are really only neo-high tech arrivists anyway.) /rant

Prompted by Jonathan Jones in Tuesdays Guardian on >>Canaletto in England<<, at the >>Dulwich Picture Gallery<<

Posted by sam at January 24, 2007 3:55 PM



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