The new bridge at Stowe. ©National Trust/Nadja Wendt
A new bridge has recently been completed at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, to reconnect the two-kilometre-long lakeside walk.
The Nattes view of the original bridge.
The original bridge, which collapsed in 1827, is shown in an early-nineteenth-century view by John Claude Nattes. Seeley’s 1827 guidebook to Stowe records the walk that it was a part of, circling and crossing the Octagon Lake and the Eleven Acre Lake.
The new bridge being constructed. ©National Trust/Nadja Wendt
Surveys revealed the location of the original paths, which were then rebuilt by the gardeners and volunteers at Stowe (and are now suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs). As part of the process, various views across the lakes have also been opened up and improved.
The bridge being fixed in place. ©National Trust/Nadja Wendt
The National Trust built the bridge in partnership with Moulton College, Northampton. Trees felled by Moulton arboriculture students supplied the timber for the bridge.
May 31, 2011 at 00:56 |
How wonderful that the John Claude Nattes image survived.
As well as I thought I knew Stowe, I did not know about the new old bridge. Who originally designed it? And do we know when it was originally completed?
May 31, 2011 at 07:10 |
Good questions Helen, I will find out.