Flood damage at Two Bridges Bridge

The photograph was taken on 26 July 1890, nine days after the great flood in the area on 17 July 1890. This photograph shows the effect of the great flood on the bridge at Two Bridges that was constructed shortly after 1772 when a new highway was built from Chagford through the West Dart valley where it forked to Tavistock and Plymouth. The bridge still exists today but traffic now crosses the West Dart River using the modern bridge on the B3212. A 1765 map shows the earlier moorland track passing to the north of the current road line and needing two bridges to cross both the Cowsic River and the West Dart River that join north of Two Bridges. The earlier moorland track had a clapper bridge for crossing the West Dart River at Two Bridges but this was dismantled when the highway bridge was built.