Garthmyl was historically a considerable industrial area with wharf's, warehouses, stables, maltings, drying kilns and lime kilns. A wooden bridge across the River Severn, built in c. 1250, was swept away by a flood in 1852. It was replaced by a new bridge three hundred metres upstream in 1852. At the time of construction, the County Surveyor for Montgomeryshire, Thomas Penson, warned that the design was flawed. The new bridge collapsed within four years. Its replacement in 1858 - the current bridge - is an an elegant narrow iron bridge made by Brymbo Iron Foundry to a design by Penson.
The remnants of the wooden bridge were swept against the east bank of the river and were revealed in 2006 after another severe flood.
The current bridge is a fine two arch cast iron structure of some elegance. It was renovated in 2003 and re-opened in 2004.
By Road: On B 4385 between Montgomery and Garthmyl
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Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts
Waterscape - The Montgomery Canal