Bigsweir

Bigsweir Bridge is an 1827 road bridge crossing the River Wye, straddling the boundary between the parish of St. Briavels, Gloucestershire, England, and Llandogo, Monmouthshire, Wales. It carries the A466 road, and is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the village of Llandogo, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Whitebrook, and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the village of St Briavels. It is the Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the River Wye, and navigation below this point falls under the jurisdiction of the Gloucester Harbour Trustees.

There is no village at Bigsweir. The bridge is about 600 metres (660 yd) upstream of the fishing weir and ford of Bigsweir, which is close to Bigsweir House. According to Sir Joseph Bradney, the weir, one of many of ancient origin on the river, was named after Buddig or Budic, the father of Euddogwy or Oudoceus, a 7th-century Welsh bishop who retired to Llandogo. Recorded early spellings of the name include Bikeswere and Brithekeswere.

Fishing rights at Bigsweir were mentioned in the Domesday Book. By 1331 the rights were held by the monks of Tintern Abbey, some 4 miles (6.4 km) downstream of the weir, and there were objections to the abbey raising the level of the weir and so impeding navigation. The rights over the weir transferred to the Earl of Worcester in 1537, later passing to his successors, the Dukes of Beaufort.

The Bigsweir estate, on the Gloucestershire side of the weir, was originally part of the lands of the Bishops of Hereford, before the freehold passed to Thomas Catchmay in 1445. It remained the main seat and estate of the Catchmay (or Catchmayde) family for several centuries.

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