Fingle Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 50°41′44″N3°46′52″W / 50.69551°N 3.78100°W |
Carries | Unclassified road |
Crosses | River Teign |
Locale | Devon |
Preceded by | Dogmarsh Bridge |
Followed by | Clifford Bridge |
Characteristics | |
Design | Arch bridge |
Material | Granite |
Piers in water | 2 |
History | |
Construction end | 17th century |
Location | |
Fingle Bridge is a 17th-century stone arch bridge carrying an unclassified road over the River Teign near Drewsteignton, within Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. This packhorse bridge has three arches and the two central piers are surrounded by triangular cutwaters extending upwards to form pedestrian refuges, and is a Grade II* listed building.
Fingle Bridge takes its name from Fingle Brook, a minor tributary which flows into the Teign adjacent to the bridge. Fingle is derived from the old English "fang", meaning to catch, a reference to the suitability of the stretch of river for fishing. [1]
The bridge sits in the base of the deep Teign Gorge, between the ancient hillforts of Prestonbury Castle 130 metres (430 ft) [2] above the river to the north and Cranbrook Castle 230 metres (750 ft) [2] above to the south, [3] and the bridge is built on the historic crossing point between the two. [4] In its early years the bridge was an important crossing over the Teign [5] used by packhorses transporting corn and wood products across the gorge, [6] although the track up to Cranbrook Castle is now an unmaintained byway such that the bridge leads only to a car park on the south side of the river for roadgoing vehicles, the bridge's function having been replaced by the larger and more accessible Dogmarsh Bridge further upstream on the A382 road.
The arches were repaired, believed by English Heritage to have been in the 19th century. [7]
In 1897 Jesse Ashplant founded the Fingle Bridge Tea Shelter on the north landing of the bridge, serving refreshments to the fishermen, tourists and grain carriers of the day. [8] This developed into the Anglers' Rest pub and was later renamed as the Fingle Bridge Inn.
In 1955 Fingle Bridge was designated a Grade II listed building, [7] reclassified in 1967 as Grade II*. [9]
Fingle Mill once stood 200 metres (660 ft) downstream, a corn mill recorded as being in operation as early as 1790 by the then owner of the bridge, George Ponsford, [10] powered by a now-defunct 500-metre (1,600 ft) long leat.
The track leading south to Cranbrook Castle is also the site of one of the Dartmoor crosses which is in the style of a granite slab with the cross engraved on it. [5]
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers 954 km2 (368 sq mi).
Princetown is a village located within Dartmoor national park in the English county of Devon. It is the principal settlement of the civil parish of Dartmoor Forest.
Postbridge is a hamlet in the heart of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. It lies on the B3212, roughly midway between Princetown and Moretonhampstead.
The River Plym is a river in Devon, England. It runs from Dartmoor in the centre of the county southwest to meet the River Meavy, then south towards Plymouth Sound. The river is popular with canoeists, and the Plym Valley Railway runs alongside a section of the river.
Moretonhampstead is a market town, parish and ancient manor in Devon, situated on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor, within the Dartmoor National Park. The parish now includes the hamlet of Doccombe, and it is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Drewsteignton, Dunsford, Bridford, Bovey Tracey, Lustleigh, North Bovey and Chagford.
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England. It is 31 mi (50 km) long and rises on Dartmoor, becomes an estuary just below Newton Abbot and reaches the English Channel at Teignmouth.
Chagford is a market town and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign and the A382, 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead. The name is derived from chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its importance as a crossing place. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 1,449.
Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Teignbridge contains part of the south Devon coastline, including the Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve. Some of the inland western parts of the district lie within the Dartmoor National Park. It is named after the old Teignbridge hundred.
The Erme is a river in south Devon, England. From its source on Dartmoor it flows in a generally southerly direction past some of the best-preserved archaeological remains on the moor. It leaves the moor at the town of Ivybridge and continues southward, passing the settlements of Ermington, Modbury and Holbeton. Near Holbeton it becomes a ria and empties into the English Channel in Bigbury Bay, between the rivers Yealm and Avon.
The Two Moors Way is a long-distance trail mostly in Devon, UK, first established in 1976. It links Dartmoor and Exmoor and has been extended to become a Devon Coast-to-Coast trail.
Bovey Tracey is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the slogan used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". It is about 10 miles south-west of Exeter and lies on the A382 road, about halfway between Newton Abbot and Moretonhampstead. The village is at the centre of the electoral ward of Bovey. At the 2011 census the population of this ward was 7,721.
Haytor, also known as Haytor Rocks, Hay Tor, or occasionally Hey Tor, is a granite tor on the eastern edge of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon.
The Hackney Canal was a short canal in Devon, England, that linked the Hackney Clay Cellars to the River Teign. It was privately built by Lord Clifford in 1843, and throughout its life carried ball clay for use in the production of pottery. It closed in 1928, when its function was replaced by road vehicles.
The A382 is a road in South West England, connecting Newton Abbot to the A38, then to Bovey Tracey and on through Moretonhampstead to the A30.
The Dartmoor crosses are a series of stone crosses found in Dartmoor National Park in the centre of Devon, England. Many of them are old navigational aids, needed because of the remoteness of the moorland and its typically bad weather. Some mark medieval routes between abbeys. Other crosses were erected as memorials, for prayer, as town or market crosses, in churchyards, and as boundary markers. The crosses were erected over a long period of time, some as recently as 100 years ago, the earliest probably almost 1,000 years ago.
The Gallox Bridge in Dunster, Somerset, England dates from the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument. The bridge is in the guardianship of English Heritage.
The River Avill is a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England.
North Bovey is a village and civil parish situated on the south-eastern side of Dartmoor National Park, Teignbridge, Devon, England, about 11 miles WSW of the city of Exeter and 1.5 miles SSW of Moretonhampstead. The village lies above the eastern bank of the River Bovey from which it takes its name. In 2001 the population of the parish was 274, compared to 418 in 1901 and 519 in 1801.
Sharp Tor is a common name given to tors (outcrops), particularly on Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. All the "Sharp Tors" are listed below with their location and height:
Hampton in Arden packhorse bridge crosses the River Blythe near Hampton in Arden in the West Midlands of England, between Birmingham and Coventry. Dating from the 15th century, it is the only bridge of its kind in the area now covered by the West Midlands, and is a grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument.