A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonryarches, and has low parapets so as not to interfere with the panniers borne by the horses.[1] Multi-arched examples sometimes have triangular cutwaters that are extended upward to form pedestrian refuges.[2]:24–25
Packhorse bridges were often built on the trade routes (often called packhorse routes) that formed major transport arteries across Europe and Great Britain until the coming of the turnpike roads and canals in the 18th century.[1] Before the road-building efforts of Napoleon, all crossings of the Alps were on packhorse trails.[3] Travellers' carriages were dismantled and transported over the mountain passes by ponies and mule trains.
Definition
In the British Isles at least, the definition of a packhorse bridge is somewhat nebulous. Ernest Hinchliffe discusses the difficulty of defining a true packhorse bridge in A Guide to the Packhorse Bridges of England.[2] He claims that "before the eighteenth century bridges were described as 'horse bridges' or 'cart bridges'" and his strict definition excludes the latter. He suggests that a classic packhorse bridge should generally be:
less than 6 feet (1.8m) in width;
built before 1800;
on a recognised packhorse route.
He categorises the 190 English bridges listed in his book into three groups:
Group 1: 6 feet (1.8m) wide or less, built before 1800 and with known packhorse associations;
Group 2: bridges that fail one or other of the above criteria, but which are generally referred to as packhorse bridges;
Group 3: bridges sometimes claimed as packhorse bridges, but dismissed as such by the author.[2]:6–7
The difficulty of classification is illustrated by Moulton Bridge in Suffolk, which Hinchliffe places in Group 1 but which English Heritage describes as "perhaps not strictly a packhorse bridge since it was wide enough to take carts".[4]
List of packhorse bridges in the British Isles
The following list includes all listed buildings described as packhorse bridges by English Heritage, Cadw, or Historic Scotland; all 106 of Hinchliffe's Group 1 bridges in England; and certain other candidates. (For England, Hinchliffe's Group numbers are given as superscripts after the bridge name.)
Probably 17th- or 18th-century; single span. Also known as High Wath Bridge, Mattie Benn's Bridge, Hannah Benn Bridge and Roman Bridge.[2]:46 Grade II listed.[32][33]
Also known as The Old Bridge. Dated by W.G.Hoskins as c. 1500, by Jervoise as late 17th-century, and by English Heritage as 16th/17th-century;[2]:121 five arches. Grade II* listed,[84] Scheduled monument.[85] Carries public footpath.
Also known as the Roman Bridge. Probably 15th-century; eleven small arches (eight on bridge, three on causeway). Grade II* listed,[87] Scheduled monument.[88]
Late 18th- or early 19th-century; single semicircular brick arch. Grade II listed.[121] Although described as such in the official listing, this canal bridge is not a packhorse bridge by most accepted definitions.
17th- or 18th-century rebuild of medieval bridge; four round arches (two inserted 1994–97 for flood relief purposes).[131] Grade II listed.[132] Carries public footpath alongside road.
Medieval, restored 1952; two semicircular arches. Grade II listed.[146] Carries public footpath, just upstream of 19th-century road bridge (also called Vicarage Bridge).
Probably 16th-century; fourteen round arches. Described as "perhaps the least altered old bridge in the county"[152] and "the longest packhorse bridge in the country".[2]:129 Grade I listed,[152] Scheduled monument.[153] Carries public bridleway.
Early 19th-century; four semicircular arches with triangular section buttresses. Described as a packhorse bridge by English Heritage,[155] though perhaps more accurately a cart bridge. Carries public byway.
Possibly 17th-century; single segmental arch. Grade II listed.[167] Carries public footpath; contra Hinchliffe, the English Heritage listing calls it a "fine graceful example of the packhorse type of bridge, but which having steps was probably only ever used as a foot-bridge...."[168]
The River Blythe flows through the English Midlands from central Warwickshire, through the Borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill in north Warwickshire. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau, is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the River Tame beside the West Midland Bird Club's Ladywalk reserve. This then joins the River Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary.
Wycoller is a village in the civil parish of Trawden Forest in Pendle, Lancashire, England. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Colne, near to the junction of the Lancashire, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire borders.
Moulton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England, located close to the town of Newmarket. It pre-dates the 1086 Domesday book and, in 2005, it was estimated to have a population of 1090. 1,033 people were recorded at the 2011 census.
Beckfoot Bridge was historically a significant crossing point over Harden Beck in Bingley, West Yorkshire, England.
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Allerford is a village in the county of Somerset, England, located within Exmoor National Park, and is part of the parish of Selworthy in the district of Somerset West and Taunton. It appears in Domesday Book as "Alresford – forda Ralph de Limesy Mill".
Haweswater Beck flows through Cumbria in England. It arises as a stream discharge from Haweswater Reservoir, at Gill Dubs, just east of the dam, and flows eastward, just north of Firth Woods, and then turns north to join the River Lowther between Bampton and Bampton Grange.
The River Winster is a river in the English county of Cumbria. The Winster was the boundary between the ancient counties of Lancashire and Westmorland. It has a relatively small catchment area; other streams flow parallel to it on either side.
Wycoller Beck is a stream in Lancashire, running through Wycoller Country Park and the village of Wycoller in Pendle. It is 3.76 miles (6.05 km) long and has a catchment area of 4.04 square miles (10.46 km2).
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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.
West Somerset is a local government district in the county of Somerset which is in South West England. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance; Grade II* structures are those considered to be "particularly significant buildings of more than local interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, severe restrictions are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or its fittings. In England, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Historic England, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; local authorities have a responsibility to regulate and enforce the planning regulations.
Bradford Bridge in Bradford on Tone in the English county of Somerset carries a road over the River Tone. It was built at some point between the 13th and 15th centuries and has been designated as a Grade II* listed building and scheduled as an ancient monument.
Bury Bridge at Bury in the parish of Brompton Regis within the English county of Somerset is a medieval packhorse bridge. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument and Grade II* listed building.
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Winster is a village in the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, in North West England. Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated less than two miles east of Windermere, England's largest natural lake. The village is within the Lake District National Park. The village has a pub, the Brown Horse Inn, an 1850s coaching inn.
Orton is a civil parish in the Eden District, Cumbria, England. It contains 15 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, two are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish contains the village of Orton, and smaller settlements including Kelleth, Raisbeck, and Greenholme, but is almost completely rural. Most of the listed buildings are houses and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings. The other listed buildings are a church, a packhorse bridge, a marker stone, and two former schools.
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↑ "Moulton Suffolk – Moulton Village Website". Moulton Village Website. Moulton, Suffolk. Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012. Further along the river you can find the Pack Horse Bridge which was built about 1446 and formed part of the trade route from Bury St Edmunds to Cambridge.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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