Beardown Farm Bridge

Beardown Farm Bridge was called Bairdown Bridge by Burnard and is the farm road bridge over the Cowsic river and is not to be confused with Beardown Clapper Bridge which also crosses the Cowsic river in the vicinity. The photograph taken in July 1888 shows the old bridge that was washed away by a great flood on the Cowsic river in July 1890 and was replaced by a new bridge shortly thereafter. During the 19th century Rev E A Bray, who lived at Beardown Farm, inscribed excerpts from poems and dedications to poets on some of the large boulders near the bridge. These inscriptions are gradually disappearing because of river erosion and lichen growing over the rocks.