Terras Bridge

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Coordinates: 50°22′26″N 4°27′51″W / 50.3739°N 4.4643°W / 50.3739; -4.4643
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Not to be confused with the bridge over the River Fal at Terras.

Terras Bridge
The downstream face of Terras Bridge
Coordinates50°22′26″N 4°27′51″W / 50.3739°N 4.4643°W / 50.3739; -4.4643
OS grid referenceSX 24866 55572
CarriesUnclassified road
CrossesEast Looe River
LocaleTerras Pill, Morval, Cornwall
Other name(s)Terras Pill Bridge
Heritage statusGrade II listed
Characteristics
MaterialStone
No. of spans2
History
Construction endc. 1825
Location
Map

Terras Bridge, also known as Terras Pill Bridge, is a road bridge near Morval in Cornwall, England. Built in c. 1825, the Grade II listed bridge crosses the tidal East Looe River, and is adjacent to the Liskeard and Looe Railway and the remains of the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal.

Description[edit]

Built in c. 1825, the stone bridge carries an unclassified road over the East Looe River at Terras Pill,[a][2] between the parishes of Morval and Duloe.[3] As well as the main span across the river channel, the bridge has a second small flood arch.[4] The main bridge arch was navigable, maintaining the river's navigability to Sandplace.[5] Downstream of the bridge, the only crossing of the river is Looe Bridge.[6]

At the north side of the bridge, the road continues on a causeway over mudflats and saltings.[3] The East Looe River is tidal as far as Tregarland Bridge – a little over 1 mi (1.6 km) upstream of Terras Bridge – and so flooding of the causeway is not uncommon.[2][7] At the north end of the causeway crosses the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal by another stone arch.[8] The canal was approved by Parliament the same year the bridge opened, and began operation in 1827.[4] A short distance upstream of the bridge was the canal's first lock which acted as a tidal barrier.[3][9]

In 1985, Terras Bridge was made a Grade II listed structure.[4]

Level crossing[edit]

In 1853 the Liskeard and Looe Railway was built on the bank separating the river and canal. The railway line crosses the bridge's roadway at an open level crossing.[4][10] The railway is now operated as the Looe Valley Line, and trains approaching the crossing are obliged to halt and sound their whistle before proceeding across the road subject to a 10 mph (16 km/h) speed limit.[11][12]

As of April 2021, the crossing was one of 62 open level crossings listed by Network Rail, and is one of three such crossings on the Looe Valley Line.[12] Open crossings account for approximately 1% of the 6,180 level crossings operated or maintained by Network Rail.[12]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ "Pill" is derived from pil, which refers to a tidal creek[1]

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Terras Crossing.
  1. ^ Fuller, Barbara (2005). Britain (2nd ed.). New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. p. 88. ISBN 9780761418450.
  2. ^ a b Spooner, Derek (2014). Wild Looe. Alison Hodge. p. 49. ISBN 9780906720943.
  3. ^ a b c "Terras Bridge (Ordnance Survey > 25 inch Scotland, 1892-1949 England and Wales, 1841-1952)". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Historic England. "TERRAS PILL BRIDGE (1329293)". National Heritage List for England.
  5. ^ Wallis, John (1847). The Cornwall Register: Containing Collections Relative to the Past and Present State of the 209 Parishes, Forming the County, Archdeaconry, Parliamentary Divisions, and Poor Law Unions of Cornwall. Liddell and Son. p. 365.
  6. ^ "Detailed maps & routes to explore the great outdoors | OS Maps". explore.osmaps.com. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Tregarland Bridge (Ordnance Survey > 25 inch Scotland, 1892-1949 England and Wales, 1841-1952)". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  8. ^ A Train Drivers Eye View of the Looe to Liskeard Branch line (Video). RailMart. 19 April 2020. Event occurs at 03:39. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  9. ^ Popplewell, Lawrence (1977). The railways, canal, and mines of Looe and Liskeard. Oakwood Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0853612124.
  10. ^ Messenger, Michael John (1978). Caradon and Looe : the canal, railways, and mines : the history of the Liskeard & Looe Union Canal, the Liskeard & Caradon Railway, the Liskeard & Looe Railway, and the mines and industries they served. Truro: Twelveheads Press. p. 76. ISBN 9780906294017.
  11. ^ "Terras Level Crossing". abcrailwayguide.uk. ABC Railway Guide. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  12. ^ a b c "Active Level Crossings data April 2021" (XLSX). Network Rail. May 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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