Brick bridge at Headstone Manor to be repaired

Restoration of an unsafe moat bridge at Headstone Manor will help bring the 14th Century attraction back to its full glory.
The three-arched 18th Century brick bridge is the only way across the watercourse onto the island where the Grade I listed building, constructed in the 14th Century, stands, but has been fenced off recently due to its poor condition.
Harrow Council now proposes to address the bridge's structural defects, vegetation growths and damp problems, and provide gates and fencing akin those present in the early 1900s, in order to bring the crossing back into use for pedestrians and vehicles.
The channel will be partially drained to allow experts to examine the bridge's foundations and discarded historic bricks dredged up from the bottom of the moat may be used to patch up the bridge's walls.
The conservation plan for the Scheduled Ancient Monument site is contained in a planning application that the council has had to submit to itself for approval.
Reports submitted in support the scheme say: "These works will also provide the opportunity, wherever possible, to record and evaluate the existing bridge, moat and retaining walls., in order to provide additional historic knowledge and evidence about the site.
"In particular, it is hoped that some evidence of earlier structures or artefacts may still remain in the moat, which could verify its age and previous usage of the site."