History

Bridge constructed for Sir Benjamin Hammet of Castle Malgwyn over Cwm Morgenau to ease access to his house and tinplate works for the quay at Cilgerran.

Hammet purchased the tinplate works which had been established on this site by the Penygored Company in around 1771. and set about creating an estate which overlooked the works and was centred upon a house with gardens and pleasure grounds.

The establishment of the estate required the diversion of the public road between Llechryd and Cilgerran, which originally passed in front of the house. In 1798 Sir Benjamin was granted permission to have a section of this road closed, and at his own expense, to build a new section skirting the estate grounds, including two new bridges – the Castle Malgwyn bridge and the Hammet Bridge.

Benjamin Hammet was the son of a barber from Taunton, England. He was employed as a footman when he met and married Louisa Esdaile and became the business partner of his father-in-law the banker Sir James Esdaile. Sir James Esdaile was a co-owner of Rose Hall, a slave plantation in Jamaica producing sugar and rum. It is unclear to what extent Hammet was involved in family slave holdings, but his grandsons received compensation for loss of slaves in Trinidad when slavery was abolished.

In 1797 he was elected the Lord Mayor of London but declined to return from Wales to take up the position. He died in Wales in 1800 and the tinplate works were dismantled in 1806. Hammet Bridge, opened in 1800, forms part of a range of estate improvements carried out by Hammet including the home farm at Castle Malgwyn Farm, the dry canal road bridge south of Llechryd Bridge (for the canal that powered the tinplate works) and other estate buildings.

Exterior

Road Bridge over river. Rubble stone with squared dressings. Barrel vault over river with low flank walls to river on N side. Pointed full width passage to W, similar blind recesses on E side. Full height buttress on N face. Putlog/drain holes and anchor ties in both faces. N parapet extended to W, vertical coping with flat end stones, E end with further angled coping. S parapet removed, replaced with modern Armco barrier and keyclamp handrail.

Cast iron plaque on N parapet reads 'Hammet Bridge was erected and Garnons Mill Road made at the sole expense of Sir Benjamin Hammet Knt. Opened 21 August 1800'.

Reasons for Listing

Included for its special architectural and historic interest as a well-designed and substantial masonry road bridge of 1800, surviving relatively intact despite later alterations to its parapet walls and deck.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29492336

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

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)