Reconnecting a Village: Our Restoration of Tilford Bridge

According to government data, Tilford and Rushmoor are some of Surrey’s “most isolated villages”, although after talking to a resident it became apparent that few inhabitants mind the lack of street lighting and immediate proximity to the sprawling urban commodities that have become commonplace elsewhere. Nevertheless, these two villages relied on narrow roads and cars to get anywhere.

Both Tilford and Rushmoor are linked by Tilford East Bridge. However, since September 2019, the medieval packhorse bridge had been closed for essential restoration sustained from a crash in January 2017, so was only passable via footbridge for fourteen months. 

According to local opinion, the consequences of the crash and road closure of the bridge “decimated” the village shop and Barley Mow pub for the past two years, cutting the village in half and further isolating it from nearby towns. Journeys that would habitually take three minutes down Tilford road had become fifteen-minute detour drives!

As the patrons of Tilford Bridge, Surrey County Council stepped in and set about organising restoration works for this iconic historical monument.

Tilford East Bridge from the side.

About Tilford Bridge

Multi-span packhorse bridges like the Tilford bridge are structures of two or more arches supported on piers. They were constructed throughout the medieval period for the use of pedestrians and packhorse or vehicular traffic, crossing rivers or streams, often replacing or supplementing earlier fords. 

The Tilford ford (hence the name) is believed to have been made in approximately 1128 AD by the monks of Waverley Abbey and the bridge itself is said to have been constructed in 1286 AD. 

Repairing Tilford Bridge After The Accident

As timber merchants and oak specialists with full on-site facilities to manage the scope of the project and based quite close to the site of the crash, W L West & Sons Ltd were recommended as the people for the job.

Producing timber supplies for the bridge’s refurbishment was a huge project, and we wanted to ensure our repairs would last long into the future while avoiding repetition of the bridge’s previous problems. So, we sat down with Surrey County Council to look at previous specs of the bridge and studied evidence of its behaviour over time. We quickly identified certain changes that needed to occur due to challenges posed by certain structural elements of the bridge.

With plans made and plenty of heritage restoration experience under our belts, we were able to supply the necessary timber components and complex machining that the project demanded.

Tilford Bridge presented its own unique set of challenges: as possibly the oldest remaining packhorse bridge in England, there were certain structural elements to keep in mind to avoid trouble down the line, including parapets and multiple arches.

We had to bear in mind the unique nature and circumference of Tilford Bridge as well: the overall convex shape stretches in such a way that all sections are of irregular lengths. This meant the new parapets and handrails had to be made bespoke to fit, following a new set of specifications we had designed beforehand. Overall, this was a difficult and complex project, so it was all the more satisfying to see it complete.

All the bracing, mortise and tenons and cutting of the main beams was done here on-site at W L West & Sons. On-site manufacturing and following our own specifications meant we were able to marry in the steel inserts with the timber with a greater level of accuracy.

W L West & Sons ended up supplying 18 cubic metres of fresh-sawn oak and 10 cubic metres of well-air-dried oak boules (logs that have been cut several times length-wise) for the Tilford Bridge repair. 

Tilford Bridge Set To Re-Open

We are pleased to announce the repair works are now finished, and Tilford East Bridge is set to re-open in early November.  The news will be a relief to inhabitants of Tilford and Rushmoor, who will be able to take up business and travel by road once more.

This was a huge project, demanding a near-constant supply of timber and spanning the best part of a year. For our part, we could not be gladder that our quality oak timber supplies found a purpose as worthy as the restoration of an iconic example of historic England’s ancient monuments. 

WL West & Sons Ltd is a timber merchant and sawmill business with 150 years of experience. We provide a wide range of timber products and supplies. We also build and install custom projects for our customers. 

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