Summary

An accommodation bridge over the Stroudwater Canal, built circa 1778 for the Stroudwater Canal Company.

Description

MATERIALS: red brick, with ashlar keystones and springers.

DESCRIPTION: roughly rectangular on plan, its wing walls are gently curved outwards, and are battered, that to the south ending in pilasters; it is truncated at the south end where it meets Nutshell House and Nutshell Cottage. The arched opening is segmental; the arch has ashlar springers, and there is a plain curved string to the extrados. The parapet is plain, topped with mortar capping.

History

The Stroudwater Navigation, built in 1775-9, was designed to link the River Severn at Framilode to Stroud, allowing coal to be brought from Shropshire, Staffordshire and the Forest of Dean to the textile mills of the Stroud valleys. The Thames and Severn Canal, constructed in 1783-9, was designed to run eastwards from Stroud, eventually linking the River Severn to the River Thames at Inglesham, near Lechlade. The Cotswold Canals, as they are also known, were generally successful, though the Thames and Severn in particular suffered serious technical failings which compromised its profitability; despite this, both canals continued in use well into the C20.

Nutshell Bridge was built circa 1778 on the Stroudwater Navigation, as an accommodation bridge. Its south end emerges alongside a house and cottage associated with the canal.

Reasons for Listing

Nutshell Bridge, dating from circa 1778, is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest: as part of the C18 Stroudwater Navigation
Intactness: the bridge is largely unaltered
Group value: with the adjacent Nutshell House and Nutshell Cottage, both listed at Grade II

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26383006

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)