Editing River Mole (section)

=== Leatherhead ===
[[File:Leatherhead Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 244353.jpg|right|thumb|Leatherhead Town Bridge across the River Mole]]
There are three [[listed building|listed]] bridges in Leatherhead of which the 14 arch Leatherhead Town Bridge is the oldest.<ref name = visit_leatherhead>{{cite web |url= http://www.visitleatherhead.com/historyAndHeritage_theRiverMole.php |title= History and Heritage: The River Mole |work= Discover Leatherhead: Gateway to the Surrey Hills |publisher= Visit Leatherhead |access-date= 7 February 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101014145922/http://www.visitleatherhead.com/historyAndHeritage_theRiverMole.php |archive-date= 14 October 2010 |url-status= live }}</ref> The first bridge on this site was probably constructed during the late Middle Ages and was rebuilt and enlarged by the [[county surveyor]], [[George Gwilt]] in 1782–83.  The bridge is a long structure of 14 segmental arches resting on low piers, finished in red brick in [[Flemish bond]], with some [[Portland stone]] dressing.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1028646|desc=Leatherhead Bridge, Bridge Street|access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref>

A few metres downstream of Leatherhead Bridge stands the Grade&nbsp;II listed railway viaduct which carries the [[Sutton & Mole Valley Lines|Leatherhead to Dorking line]] over the river.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1028596|desc=Railway viaduct approximately 15 metres west of road bridge over River Mole|access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref>  The bridge was constructed in 1867 and, at the insistence of [[Thomas Grissell]] the landowner, was given lavish architectural treatment.<ref name=Jackson>{{cite book |title= Dorking's Railways |last= Jackson |first= AA |year= 1988 |publisher= Dorking Local History Group|location= Dorking |isbn= 1-870912-01-2}}</ref>

The single-span Shell Bridge stands in the grounds of Thorncroft Manor, to the south of the Town Centre.<ref name = visit_leatherhead/> The bridge was constructed as an ornamental feature in parkland laid out by [[Capability Brown]] in the late 18th century.  The bridge is largely composed of flint and has a large inverted scallop shell in the place of the [[keystone (architecture)|keystone]] and similar shells in the [[spandrel arch|spandrels]] at each side.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1293520|desc=Ornamental bridge approximately 70 metres north of Thorncroft Bridge|access-date=1 May 2020}}</ref>  The bridge was renovated and strengthened in 1999 by a group of Canadian engineers working on the Terra Nove project. The restoration project was dedicated to the memory of the Canadian servicemen who were billeted in the manor during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/REMEMBERS/sub.cfm?source=memorials/ukmem/leatherhead |title= The Shell Bridge and Thorncroft Manor |work= UK Memorials: Commemorating Canada's Fallen |date= December 2005 |publisher= Veterans' Affairs Canada |access-date= 7 February 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>