The Regency Restoration project at the National Botanic Garden of Wales was a 5 year project to restore features including the construction of six new bridges.
The Regency Restoration project at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Camarthenshire was a five year project to restore features of the landscape that were created in the late 18th century and early 19th century. New Civil Engineer reports that it included the construction of six new bridges.
The Regency period landscape was originally created for the politician William Paxton, and the restoration of the bridges was inspired by paintings by the artist Thomas Horner, who was a surveyor as well. This meant that his artwork was able to present an accurately proportioned bird’s eye view of the plans.
The original bridges had been lost over time, and the project involved creating five new bridges, installing a replacement structure and the refurbishment of an existing masonry arch bridge. Two steel bridges were prefabricated at an engineering works in Swansea and craned into place, and four timber bridges were built on site.
Discussing the use of Horner’s paintings, senior structural engineer Tom Martin explained: “We used the artwork as a visual guide. The Rustic Bridge was heavily informed by it. For the Waterfall Bridge, we had a clear illustration but there was a degree of artistic licence – Hornor’s bridge is wider and taller than it is in real life.”
“So we were trying to pick apart an image to create a bridge that worked, knowing it had been exaggerated to look more dramatic.”
The timber bridges presented further challenges in the materials, design and construction. The Rustic Bridge was built from oak, which needed to be slender to match the style of the original bridge. The timber was sourced from an estate in Reading, where the oak trees had grown unusually fast and tall to compete for light with surrounding trees.
Despite adverse weather conditions, the project was delivered on time and under budget.