River Brue’s Historic Bridges By David Jury The River Brue’s Historic Bridges In his book "Bridges of Britain" Geoffrey Wright writes: "Most bridges are fascinating, many are beautiful, particularly those spanning rivers in naturally attractive settings. The graceful curves and rhythms of arches, the texture of stone, the cold hardness of iron, the stark simplicity of iron, form constant contrasts with the living fluidity of the water which flows beneath." I cannot add anything to that – it is exactly what I see and feel when walking the rivers of Somerset and discover such a bridge. From source to sea there are 58 bridges that span the River Brue, they range from the simple plank bridge to the enormity of the structures that carry the M5 Motorway. This article will look at the history behind some of those bridges. From the river’s source the first bridge of note is Church Bridge in South Brewham, with it’s downstream arch straddling the river between two buildings. Figure 1 - Church Bridge South Brewham The existing bridge is circa 18th century but there was a bridge recorded here in 1258. Reaching Bruton, we find Church Bridge described by John Leland in 1525 as the " Est Bridge of 3 Archys of Stone", so not dissimilar to what we have today, but in 1757 the bridge was much narrower “barely wide enough for a carriage” and was widened on the east side sometime in the early part of the 19th century. Figure 2 - Church Bridge Bruton Close by we find that wonderful medieval Bow Bridge or Packhorse Bridge constructed in the 15th century with its graceful slightly pointed chamfered arch. Figure 3 - Bow Bridge Bruton On the west side of Bruton we have a much younger structure, Legg’s Bridge built in 1930 and is an early example of a single wide span arch reinforced concrete bridge. It was built by Edward Stead, County Surveyor and was one of many such structures built by Stead in Somerset. The original bridge was noted in the early 18th century as being of 3 arches. Figure 4 - Legg's Bridge Bruton At Gants Mill and Cole Farm the river flows beneath the viaducts of the Victorian railways built in the 1860’s Figure 5 - Cole Viaduct before arriving at probably the oldest existing bridge on the river, Wyke Champflower Bridge, constructed sometime in the 15th century with two pointed arches with double arch rings built of very rough masonry and a massive cutwater on the upstream side and a buttress downstream. It’s a wonderful and important bridge noted by it’s scheduled monument status. In the reign of Charles II it was noted in the Quarter Session Records as being in a great decay - “On information that an ancient common bridge in Weeke Champflower near Brewton on the highroad from Weymouth to Bristol is in great decay ; the Court desires Peter, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Maurice, Viscount Fitzhardinge, and Robert Hunt, Thomas Wyndham, George Horner, Richard Crosse, Henry Bull, Esquires, and Thomas Holt, D.D., justices, to view the bridge before next Sessions, enquire who ought to repair it, and, if it be a county bridge, ascertain the cost of repairing it.” Figure 6 - Wyke Champflower Bridge Next we find Ansford Bridge constructed in 1823 to replace a bridge located downstream and known as Woodmill Bridge with a ”great stone arch” this bridge fell in 1696 and was replaced with one of two arches. The existing bridge is a single arch. Figure 7 - Ansford Bridge Bridgefoot Bridge which carries the Fosseway over the Brue was built in 1820 at a cost of £248 to replace the Fosse bridge which was a little way downstream and demolished around the same time. Currently the downstream side is as the original single segmental arch with a 25 ft. span. Figure 8 - Bridgefoot Bridge At the Quarter Sessions held in 1632 it was reported that "the two Comon bridges lyinge over the river at West Lidford are now become founderous and are like to be further Decayed without some speedy Course bee forthwith taken to repair them" - here, at West lydford, we have a bridge of true beauty, mainly due to the workmanship of one, Richard Carver, a stonemason who restored the bridge in 1846 by rebuilding the abutments and four cutwaters, repaired the arches, and built blue lias parapets with five segmented floodwater arches. Figure 9 - West Lydford Bridge . The River Brue’s Historic Bridges – Part 2 In Part 2 I will be looking at one of my favourite sections of the river from West Lydford to Glastonbury. From Lydford the river winds its way through cider apple orchards to reach Tootal Bridge. Figure 10 - Tootal Bridge The existing structure is early 18th century and is built of lias stone with three semi-circular arches, a solid parapet which is pointed in the centre and curved end returns. Unusually it has two rows of voussoirs to the arches. On the upstream side there are two cutwaters designed to take the water around the bridge piers and thus protect the foundations. On the top of one of these cutwaters rests a flat stone in which a square hole is sunk. It is said that it once held a cross. Records show that there was a bridge of a single arch in this location in the 12th century and due to its imminent collapse was completely rebuilt in 1719. This section of the river is erroneously shown on the Ordnance Survey maps as Dunstan’s Dyke which according to John Moreland’s article “The Brue at Glastonbury” was created some 40 years earlier by diverting Southwood Brook to provide the water source for a mill leat which provided power for Baltonsborough Mill. The erroneously named Dunstan’s Dyke section of the River Brue was a diversion of the river created in the 13th century to provide more water power for Baltonsborough Mill. The original course of the river from Tootle Bridge is now called Cunlease Rhyne which rejoins the river just below Baltonborough Flights. From Baltonsborogh Flights the river itself travels west and then north west to Wallyer’s Bridge at Baltonsborough. Figure 11 - Baltonsborough Flights There was a bridge of two arches here in 1503 which carried a road which linked the Glastonbury manors of East Pennard and Butleigh. Wallyer’s Bridge was known as Baltonsborough Bridge in 1686 and as Wallgate bridge in the 18th century and was rebuilt in 1723 and again in 1799. The existing structure, built in 1972, is a single arch built of stone with a concrete deck and a metal railed parapet. Figure 12 - Wallyer's Bridge From Wallyer’s Bridge the river flows in generally the same direction to Butt Moor Bridge and on through Kennard Moor and South Moor to Cow Bridge, just south of Glastonbury. Cow Bridge is worth a look if passing, it was built around 1930 and is an early example of a concrete reinforced structure. Figure 13 - Cow Bridge From Cow bridge the river flows in a westerly direction along a straight channel to Clyce Hole or Prior’s Weir. Figure 14 - Clyce Hole This straight channel was constructed circa 12th century to provide the flow for the Glastonbury Mill Stream that starts at Clyce Hole. From here the river continues to flow in a westerly direction to Pomparles Bridge (Bridge of Perils) which carries the A39. Figure 15 - Pomparles Bridge The existing Pomparles Bridge was built in 1912 and is reinforced concrete arch bridge designed by Edward Stead, County Surveyor of Somerset County Council. References to the bridge occur as early as the 13th century. Leyland described it as a " Bridge of stone of 4 arches communely caullid Pontperlus, wher men fable the Arthur cast in his Swerd." Phelps in his History of Somerset gives an illustration of the bridge which existed before the rebuilding in 1826. From this it appears that the bridge had 2 arches, one semicircular in shape, the other a pointed arch, possibly built in the 15th century. During excavations for a new bridge in 1912, the remains of second round arch were found to the South. It was regarded as C12 work. The old bridge, the predecessor of the medieval stone bridge, was referred to in documents of 1163, but may have been pre-Conquest in origin. The excavations which located the pre-Conquest causeway north of Street also encountered heavy oak timbers which might be part of the structure of this bridge. However, a 10th century charter appears to refer to a stone bridge carrying this road. Figure 16 - Old sketch of Pomparles Bridge From Pomparles Bridge the river changes direction to a generally northern flow and after a short distance the river flows into an engineered channel which changed the course of the original river flow. The new channel was probably constructed circa 12th century. The river passes beneath Cradle Bridge, previously known as Madeload Bridge, which carries Porchestall Drove Figure 17 - Cradle Bridge and then beneath a disused railway bridge which originally carried the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, Highbridge to Glastonbury line. This is also the location where the disused Glastonbury Canal Aqueduct crossed the river. It continues to flow northerly to Cold Harbour Bridge where it joins with the mouth of the Glastonbury Mill Stream. Figure 18 - Cold harbour Bridge The Historic Bridges of the River Brue – Part 3 The final part of my journey along the river Brue takes us from Cold Harbour, to the west of Glastonbury, to the sea at Burnham. The bridge at Cold Harbour is a modern concrete beam bridge carrying the B3151 Meare Road from Glastonbury.