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Address Snowdonia National Park, Caernarfon LL55 4YG, United Kingdom Similar Aberglaslyn Pass, Afon Glaslyn, Llyn Dinas, Llyn Cwm Bychan, Pont Croesor railway st | ||
Glaslyn river between beddgelert and pont aberglaslyn
Pont Aberglaslyn is a bridge over the Afon Glaslyn and the surrounding hamlet, located near Beddgelert and Nantmor in Gwynedd, north-west Wales.
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Location
Pont Aberglaslyn is located near the downstream end of the Aberglaslyn Pass. While the location is rocky with the river running through rapids just upstream, it is not far above sea level. The river was tidal and navigable up to around Pont Aberglaslyn until the early nineteenth century, when the construction of the Cob seawall near Porthmadog prevented the tide from reaching it. Below the bridge is Llyn Glas (Blue Lake), a former harbour site used for loading copper mined nearby.
The bridge was formerly on the border between Caernarfonshire on the west side of the river and Merionethshire on the east. It is now the meeting-place of the A498 and A4085.
Bridge
The bridge was perhaps built in the 17th century, then extensively rebuilt and widened in 1795-6. It is Grade II listed. As with many older bridges, folklore had claimed that it was constructed by the Devil or by the Romans (described as "highly dubious" by a National Trust survey); a stone with the marking "W M 1656" scratched on it was found during reconstruction, providing a terminus ante quem. Another possibly medieval bridge spans a small stream that is a tributary of the Glasyn nearby.
Nearby is Bridge House (Ty Bont), a lodge for the nearby Aberglaslyn Hall estate. This is also listed at grade II.
Archaic variant names for the site included "Pont Abberglasslyn" and "Pont Abberglaslyn".