Full Report for Listed Buildings


The list description is not intended to be a complete inventory of what is listed: it is principally intended to aid identification. By law, the definition of a listed building includes the entire building (i) and any structure or object that is fixed to the said building and ancillary to it and (ii) any other structure or object that forms part of the land and has done so since before 1 July 1948, and was within the curtilage of the building, and ancillary to it, on the date on which said building was first included in the list, or on 1 January 1969, whichever was later.

Summary Description


Reference Number
23310
Building Number
 
Grade
II  
Status
Designated  
Date of Designation
05/01/1989  
Date of Amendment
19/05/2000  
Name of Property
Neath River Swing Bridge (partly in Coedffranc and Neath Communities)  
Address
 

Location


Unitary Authority
Neath Port Talbot  
Community
Briton Ferry  
Town
 
Locality
River Neath  
Easting
273071  
Northing
196362  
Street Side
E  
Location
Spanning the River Neath on the W side of Neath town.  

Description


Broad Class
Transport  
Period
 

History
The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was incorporated in 1882 but was not completed until 1900, the original plans having been extensively modified. The line between Neath and Swansea, crossing the River Neath, was authorised in 1892. The bridge was built 1892-4 with a swing portion of 52 metres and a gross weight of 1422 tonnes. The chief engineer was S.W. Yockney, the resident engineer was F.E. Goldwyre and the contractor was George Palmer. Steelwork was supplied by Finch & Co of Chepstow. It was originally hydraulically operated, the machinery supplied by William Armstrong of Newcastle, but is now fixed.  

Exterior
The slightly curved plate-girder deck has 5 fixed spans on round steel cylinders sunk into the river bed. The central movable span comprises a parabolic lattice girder truss with Pratt truss diagonal members. The structure rests on a cast iron roller race containing the operating mechanism which is carried on smaller steel cylinders.  

Interior
 

Reason for designation
Listed for industrial archaeological interest as the only oblique swing bridge in Britain.  

Cadw : Full Report for Listed Buildings [ Records 1 of 1 ]





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