Ribchester Bridge
The northern side of the bridge in 2006
Coordinates53°48′57″N 2°30′52″W / 53.81593°N 2.51435°W / 53.81593; -2.51435
CarriesB6245 (Ribchester Road)
CrossesRiver Ribble
LocaleClayton-le-Dale, Lancashire, England
Heritage statusGrade II listed
Characteristics
Total length71.8 metres (236 ft)
Longest span23.2 metres (76 ft)
History
Opened1774 (1774)
Statistics
Daily trafficYes
TollNo
Location

Ribchester Bridge is a toll-free, three-span bridge over the River Ribble near Ribchester, Lancashire, England. A Grade II listed structure, located about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) east of the village, it actually crosses the river between the civil parishes of Clayton-le-Dale and Dutton.[1] The bridge carries the two-lane traffic of the B6245 Ribchester Road.[2]

Thought to have been constructed in 1774, it is built of sandstone and consists of three segmental arches on triangular cutwaters, with a string course and a solid parapet.[3][1] The bridge has an overall length 71.8 metres (236 ft) and width of 6.8 metres (22 ft) (deck plus 300-millimetre (12 in)-wide parapets). The central span in the largest at 23.2 metres (76 ft) with a rise of 5.5 metres (18 ft), with the others of differing, slightly smaller dimensions.[2]

This point on the river is above the tidal limit, the banks approximately 27 metres (90 ft) above the Ordnance datum.[4] It has been an important crossing for millennia with the Roman fort here positioned to guard it;[5] however, the origin of the earliest bridge is uncertain.[6] The current bridge's predecessor had been constructed in 1669.[7] William Stukeley in his 'Itinerarium Curiosum', published in 1721, described it as "a noble bridge of four very large arches" half a mile above Ribchester.[8] The county authorities must have been aware of problems, as in 1769 tenders were invited for its reconstruction, but it collapsed during a flood in 1772.[7][9]

That bridge had also replaced another of unknown age.[9] A charter of 1354 gave permission for the building of a bridge of wood or stone across the river at a place called 'Madynford', also granting some land for the use of the ferryman; however, this was possibly considerably downstream, near Osbaldeston Hall,[6] where a ferry-crossing was still recorded in the mid-19th century.[4]

See also

References

Citations

Sources

  • Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
  • Historic England, "Ribchester Bridge, Clayton-le-Dale (1072294)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 28 July 2015
  • Jervoise, Edwyn (1931), The Ancient Bridges of the North of England, Architectural Press
  • Smith, Thomas Charles; Shortt, Jonathan (1890), The History of the Parish of Ribchester..., Bemrose & sons, retrieved 19 September 2021
  • Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1872), An history of the original Parish of Whalley, and honor of Clitheroe... 4th ed., vol. 1, George Routledge, OCLC 697798990, retrieved 19 September 2021
  • Whitaker, Thomas Dunham (1876), An history of the original Parish of Whalley, and honor of Clitheroe... 4th ed., vol. 2, George Routledge, OCLC 697798990, retrieved 19 September 2021
  • "Engineering Timelines – Ribchester Bridge", www.engineering-timelines.com, retrieved 11 September 2021
  • "Lancashire LIV" (Map), National Library of Scotland, 1:1,560, 6 inch, Ordnance Survey, 1848, retrieved 9 September 2021
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