TREASURE DESCRIPTION: A terracotta and brick bridge over the River Wandle. Carew Manor belonged to an important Tudor family and when the estate was eventually broken up in 1859, the southern portion was bought by Canon Bridges, thus saving Beddington Park from development. He landscaped the park and built bridges and East Lodge near St. Mary’s Church. The terracotta of the bridge named after him was made by the Watcombe Pottery in Torquay and the bricks at Sudbury, Suffolk where Bridges had family connections. The west parapet was badly damaged by a falling tree in the 1987 gale, but was restored by the London Borough of Sutton. The bridge is on Sutton’s local list of buildings. Many of the landscaped features and structures of Beddington Park owe their existence to Bridges.
These treasures were made as part of The Building Exploratory, Wandle Treasures project. This project was part of the wider Living Wandle Landscape Partnership Scheme, funded by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
