Bridging history

 

Visitors to Sydney marvel at the 1930s riveted steel structure known as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. To the locals it’s simply referred to as The Bridge. For several hundred years visitors have been marvelling at a most unusual bridge, known as the Devil’s Bridge, located about 16km west of Aberystwyth which spans the River Mynach.

 

Sometime in the medieval period a brick arched bridge was built spanning a narrow gorge under which a torrent of water flows. This ancient bridge stood for hundreds of years providing foot traffic with a safe crossing. By the mid 18 century the old structure needed replacing to cope with the demands of horses and horse drawn carriages. A second arch was built over the top of the first arch, using the surrounds of the first bridge. So, by 1753 visitors could marvel at one bridge build on top of another. By the start of the 20^th century the bridge again needed repair and upgrade for the motor car, which was beginning to replace the horse and cart. A third iron bridge was constructed above the previous two bridges. Where once the foot traveller would traverse a steep gully down to and up from the bridge, by 1903 the bridge not only forded the stream but spanned the entire width of the valley.

 

Today a walking track with a couple of hundred steps winds down below the three bridges revealing the most extraordinary example of engineering, recycling and renewal. The force, volume and noise of the river below is spectacular in itself, as it carves a path through rock. Looking up what you see on display over 1000 years of Welsh bridge building and engineering showing how humans have overcome the challenges of nature in this quiet part of the world.

 

The name of the bridge derives from an even earlier bridge and a legendary story. Before the medieval bridge existed, a wooden bridge was supposedly built by the Devil himself. A poor, old lady lost one of her cows which had strayed across the river. The Devil offered to build a bridge on the condition that he would take the soul of the first living creature to cross the bridge. Knowing that the woman would be keen to rescue her cow, the Devil assumed his building project would secure the old woman’s demise. However, the old woman outsmarted

the Devil when she encouraged her dog to cross the bridge lured by a loaf of bread which she threw to the other side. The sacrificial dog was not needed by the Devil, who was angry and humiliated by the trick, and legend has it that he then withdrew from Wales altogether.

 

Not sure about the legend, but what is left today could easily be described as a ‘hell of a bridge’.