The site

Myddleton House is the headquarters of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. It was once owned by E A Bowles (1865 to 1954) who devoted much of his life to the creation of the beautiful garden. The garden is now open to the public.

The brief

To replace the original bridge which was made from a rare and exotic wood called Pyinkado. The new bridge is crafted from English green oak, sustainably sourced from a local sawmill.

The solution

Following an initial site assessment and free quotation, we designed the replacement bridge based on a single, very old, black and white photograph. We sourced the oak from a local sawmill and went to work on construction. The first task was to get the two, single-span, bearer timbers in position. This required a little extra help from the gardeners as they were quite a weight! We then fixed the newels (uprights to support the handrail) and installed and planed the handrail to match the photograph.

Finally the walk boards were positioned and installed, and with plenty of careful sanding the task was complete.

The result

An exceptional hand-crafted oak bridge, with a modern twist on the original design. It sits perfectly in the garden and the level of detail demonstrates its bespoke design and construction.