Great Barford Bridge, Bedfordshire, 9 Feb 2015 This is one of my favourite bridges as it has character. The reason for such an impressive bridge is not obvious. However, the Great North Road was not made a turnpike until 1725, and the original bridge at Tempsford was not built until 1736, so this could have been an important crossing. The bridge itself is nearly 600 years old, and is Grade 1 listed. It was built when Sir Gerald Braybrooke left £100 in his will in 1427 “to replace a ford”. The bridge was built of stone and had eight arches. At various times in the 18th Century seven extra arches were added over the flood plain to the south and two more at the northern end. In 1818 the bridge was widened using timber beams. These had rotted by 1874 and were replaced by brick along the west side of the bridge. This was not well done and in 1897 iron ties were used to tie the brickwork to the stone behind as it had begun to pull away.