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[[File:Dowles Bridge.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The remaining brick and stone abutments and piers of Dowles Bridge, which still stand in 20152016]]
Dowles Bridge formerly carried the [[Wyre Forest Line]] over the [[River Severn]] around one mile north of [[Bewdley]]. It was reached by a sweeping embankment curving off to the left from the Severn Valley Line at a location now referred to as the [[Tenbury Wall]].
The bridge was designed by William Clarke, the Engineer of the Tenbury & Bewdley. Admiralty approval for its construction was granted in 1862.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Beddoes & Smith (1995)]], p. 21.</ref> The design was described in the Board of Trade Inspector's report prior to opening as ''"a viaduct over the Severn of 3 openings each of 70ft carried by wrought iron lattice girders on masonry piers and abutments"''.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Beddoes & Smith (1995)]], p. 32.</ref>
The bridge was built during 1862 and 1863 at a cost of £7,000.<ref Name = "Beddoes28">[[Bibliography#Books | Beddoes & Smith (1995)]], p. 28.</ref> It was brought in sections from [[Peto, Brassey and Betts | Brassey’s Canada Works, Birkenhead ]] and erected on site. The style of lattice construction was common in America at the time, where it was known as a ‘Town Truss’ after Ithiel Town who patented the design in 1820.<ref Name = "Beddoes28" />
Prior to opening, the bridge was tested using locomotives belonging to the West Midland Railway who charged a fee of £12 for the service.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Beddoes & Smith (1995)]], p. 27.</ref>
The curve leading onto the bridge at the Bewdley end was subject to a 15 mph restriction.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Beddoes & Smith (1995)]], p. 179.</ref>
During the Second World War the bridge was designated a vulnerable point and protected by a movable steel and stone rail block.<ref>[https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/dob/ai_full_r.cfm?refno=13834&CFID=036777f5-1e72-4b37-bd8c-19c140bb71fd&CFTOKEN=0 Council for British Archaeology web site]</ref>
==Closure==
All traffic ceased on the Wyre Forest Line on Good Friday, 16 April 1965, with the electric token working between Cleobury Mortimer and [[Bewdley North signal box | Bewdley North signal box]]es being withdrawn on 8 May 1965. For a short period the line including the bridge was still used by demolition trains, being treated as a siding.
Appeals in the press for the bridge to be retained and converted to a roadway came to no avail, and in March 1966 the iron girders were finally removed.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books | Beddoes & Smith (1995)]], p. 198.</ref> The brick abutments and piers still stand, and are visible from SVR trains between [[Northwood Halt]] and [[Bewdley]]. In March 2017 the Rotary Club of Bewdley announced their support for a project to reinstate a footbridge on the existing piers, providing a connection between [[National Cycle Route 45]] and the [[Wyre Forest]].<ref>[http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=628408&ClubID=1684 Bridging the River, Rotary Club of Bewdley] (retrieved 11 April 2017)</ref>
==Gallery==
File:Dowles Bridge 1864.jpg | Dowles Bridge in 1864
File:Dowles Bridge 1966.jpg | Dismantling of the bridge in 1966
File:TBY2.JPG | Engineers Line Reference on bridge abutment
</gallery>
==References==
<references />
==Links==
[https://www.macearchive.org/films/hobson-various-bewdley-1960-61 Home movie on Media Archive for Central England showing dismantling of the bridge, starting at 3:52].
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