The 'New' London Bridge Corbels at Swelltor Quarry

The 13 remaining corbels with Swelltor Quarry in the background.

One of Dartmoor's more well-known artifacts isn't prehistoric at all but dates to the beginning of the 20th century. They can be seen at Swelltor Quarry and are granite corbels carved on-site for alterations that were being made to London Bridge [SX556735].

The quarry opened c.1820 along with the quarry at nearby Foggin Tor. In March 1903 nearly 1600 tonnes of granite were blasted in one operation and it was from this rock that the corbels were fashioned. Swelltor Quarry at this time was under the ownership of Pethicks and they were the firm given the commission to supply the pieces necessary for the bridge's alteration.

One of the beautifully worked corbels.

The 'New' London Bridge was designed by John Rennie and opened in 1831 as a replacement for the medieval bridge that had spanned the Thames since the 13th century. Rennie's bridge was itself constructed originally from granite quarried at Haytor. By the end of the 19th century, due to congestion, a plan was hatched to increase the width of the bridge by 13ft by projecting the pavements out over the Thames on a series of corbels. It is the remnants of these corbels which can be seen today at Swelltor Quarry.

Thirteen of them lie on a track to the north-west of the quarry. These were apparently too short to be used and so lie here still, fully finished, enjoying spectacular views into West Devon and Cornwall.

The corbels with views into West Devon and Cornwall.

The bridge itself was sold in 1968 and the casing stones shipped to Lake Havasu. Some of the corbels remaining on the moor at this time are said to have been included in the sale and made the journey to America where they were used when the bridge was rebuilt in Arizona.

Access: A round trip from Princetown to see the corbels is a very easy walk of about 7km along the disused railway line. The corbels are to the right of the path that passes through the quarry on the way to King's Tor.

Sources:
'Industrial Archaeology of Dartmoor', Helen Harris, 1986
'Exploring Dartmoor Again', F. H. Starkey, 1986