A competition to design a new £4million footbridge linking the Cornish castle thought to be King Arthur's birthplace with the mainland has been launched.
Six designs for the 285ft (87m) high structure at Tintagel Castle have been unveiled, which will help reconnect the castle's divided landscape in north Cornwall.
Once united by a narrow strip of land, today the remains of the 13th Century settlement can be seen on both the mainland and the jagged coast at the site of what is reputedly King Arthur's birthplace.
The new bridge will sit 92ft (28m) higher than the current crossing and span some 236ft (72m) across 'one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain', according to English Heritage.
Subject to planning approval and consent, the bridge is scheduled for completion in 2019.
A bridge fit for King Arthur: Contest is launched for new walkway to birthplace of mythical ruler in Cornwall
English Heritage has shortlisted six designs for a new £4million footbridge linking Tintagel Castle to the mainland
The new bridge will span 72 metres across 'one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain'
More than 200,000 people visit Tintagel Castle, reputedly the birthplace of the legendary King Arthur, every year
The new bridge on the north Cornwall coast is scheduled for completion in 2019
By Shari Miller For Mailonline
7 December 2015
Daily Mail
A competition to design a new £4million footbridge linking the Cornish castle thought to be King Arthur's birthplace with the mainland has been launched.
Six designs for the 285ft (87m) high structure at Tintagel Castle have been unveiled, which will help reconnect the castle's divided landscape in north Cornwall.
Once united by a narrow strip of land, today the remains of the 13th Century settlement can be seen on both the mainland and the jagged coast at the site of what is reputedly King Arthur's birthplace.
The new bridge will sit 92ft (28m) higher than the current crossing and span some 236ft (72m) across 'one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain', according to English Heritage.
Bridging the gap: Six designs, including this one from RFR and Jean-Francois Blassel, have been submitted for a new footbridge at Tintagel Castle, which is visited by more than 200,000 people every year. The castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island
A view from a bridge: This entry from Dietmar Feichtinger Architects with Terrell is called Between Land and Sea and incorporates a bowed steel girder stressed into a horizontal position by stainless steel plates that are anchored to the slopes of the ravine
Sweeping landscape: This shortlisted bridge design from WilkinsonEyre with Atelier One is constructed from oak and stainless steel
The six designs have shortlisted from 137 entries that were submitted from 27 countries.
Among the finalists is Marks Barfield Architects Flint & Neill with their entry, the Bronze Blade, 'a bridge that is elegant, efficient, exhilarating and rooted in this spectacular place imbued with mystery.'
Niall Mclaughlin's design with Price & Myers in Cornish granite 'is simple, durable and reinforces the place’s drama: a stone arch of Cornish granite springs across the chasm, seemingly tethering the island to the mainland.'
Meanwhile RFR and Jean-Francois Blassel have come up with a design that, 'through the use of natural stone, the bridge takes its place within Tintagel’s historical layers.'
The other shortlisted designs are by Wilkinson Eyre, with Atelier One, Dietmar Feichtinger and Terrel and Ney & Partners with William Matthews Associates.
More than 200,000 tourists visit Tintagel Castle every year.
The remains include a 13th century castle which was built by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the brother of Henry III.
The 12th century monk, Geoffrey of Monmouth, was the first to write down the name of Tintagel and identify it as the place where Arthur was conceived.
According to his account, Arthur was conceived after a passionate episode between King Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine.
The legend states that Merlin disguised Uther as Gorlois, the husband of Igraine, who was away at war.
Traditional: Marks Barfield Architects with Flint & Neill's design uses a beam bridge, the oldest and simplest of bridge structures
Breathtaking: This sweeping design from Ney & Partners with William Matthews Associates uses two independent cantilevers
Spectacular: This design by Niall McLaughlin Architects with Price & Myers proposes a stone arch made from Cornish granite
Later versions of the story state that Arthur was born at Tintagel in a cave and hidden by Merlin to protect him from the angered Gorlois.
Tintagel is also the backdrop for another medieval story telling the tragic romance between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Yseult.
The shortlist is on display to the public at the tourist information centre in Tintagel, until 11 December.
Subject to planning approval and consent, the bridge is scheduled for completion in 2019.
FACT OR FICTION: DID THE LEGENDARY KING ARTHUR REALLY EXIST?
Clive Owen portrayed the legendary leader in the 2004 film, King Arthur, but whether he really existed is still a matter of debate among historians
Both the Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) and Annales Cambriae (Welsh Annals), state that Arthur was a genuine historical figure, a Romano-British leader who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the late 5th to early 6th century.
The 9th Century Historia Brittonum lists 12 battles that King Arthur fought, including the Battle of Mons Badonicus, where he is said to have killed 960 men - but some scholars have dismissed the reliability of this text.
Tintagel Castle is the legendary birthplace of King Arthur.
As according to the legend, archaeologists have discovered this was the fortified home of the ruler of Cornwall, in about 500AD.
In 1998, a slate engraved with ‘Artognou’ was discovered there.
Silchester in Hampshire was the site of King Arthur’s coronation and was able to continuously defend itself against the Saxons.
The Roman name for Silchester was Calleba – similar to the name given to Arthur’s sword, Excalibur.
One of Arthur’s celebrated battles against the Saxons was fought at Chester or the City of the Legion, as it was known in the Dark Ages.
Archaeologists have discovered evidence of battle at nearby Heronbridge, and recent excavations show the amphitheatre was fortified during this period, with a shrine to a Christian martyr at its centre.
This fits a description of Arthur’s Round Table, which was said to be a very large structure, seating 1,600 of his warriors.
During the 1960s, excavations by Philip Rahtz showed someone had inhabited the top of Glastonbury Tor during the so-called Arthurian period.
According to the legends, this could have been King Meluas, who abducted Queen Guinevere to his castle at Glastonbury, or Arthur’s warrior Gwynn ap Nudd, who was banished from his Palace on the Tor.
In 1191, monks at Glastonbury Abbey found the body of a gigantic man, wounded several times in the head. The bones of his wife and a tress of her golden hair were also in the oak coffin.
Found with the burial was an ancient lead cross, inscribed with ‘Here lies buried the famous king Arthur with Guinevere his second wife, in the Isle of Avalon’.
In 1962, archaeological evidence was found supporting the story that a tomb within the ancient church had been disturbed centuries previously.
The whereabouts of the cross and bones are no longer known.
However, Arthur is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle or any documents written between 400 and 820 - including Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
Read more: King Arthur's Cornwall birthplace sees contest launched for new walkway | Daily Mail Online
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