Hampton in Arden packhorse bridge
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Hampton in Arden packhorse bridge | |
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| Coordinates | 52°25′05″N 1°41′13″W / 52.418°N 1.687°W |
| Crosses | River Blythe |
| Locale | Hampton in Arden, England |
| Heritage status | Grade II* listed building; scheduled monument |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Stone |
| No. of spans | 5 |
| History | |
| Opened | 15th century |
| Location | |
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Hampton in Arden packhorse bridge crosses the River Blythe near Hampton in Arden in the West Midlands (historically Warwickshire) 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.[1]
The bridge crosses the River Blythe between the parishes of Hampton in Arden and Berkswell. It consists of five arches, three of which are original and built from stone and two in red brick which are evidence of a later repair. The original arches are pointed (Gothic) and the later ones in segmental style. The spans of the arches vary between 9 feet 9 inches (2.97 metres) and 10 feet 2 inches (3.1 metres). The bridge is narrow, less than 6 feet (1.8 metres) wide, and has a low parapet on one side and none on the other. It has substantial triangular cutwaters on the upstream side and lesser, squared cutwaters on the downstream side. One of the piers supports the base of a cross. Above the cutwaters are refuges which allow pedestrians to move out of the carriageway. There is evidence of considerable repairs several times in the bridge's history.[1][2][3] The whole bridge is 75 feet (23 metres) long and now sits in the centre of a nature reserve. The bridge has no parapets but an iron handrail is a modern addition.[4]
Just downstream from the bridge is a ford. In the 1830s, the Blythe Viaduct was built to carry the London and Birmingham Railway slightly downstream from the packhorse bridge and the ford. The railway viaduct and the packhorse bridge both feature in an 1838 lithograph by John Cooke Bourne.[5]
