High Bridge

The bridge was built around 1160. The ribs of the original bridge survive, making it possibly the second-oldest masonry arch bridge in Britain and certainly the oldest with intact buildings on it. Churches and other ecclesiastical buildings were not uncommon on or near medieval bridges but High Bridge is unusual in carrying a secular building. The current row of timber framed shops on the west side of the bridge date from about 1550. Stokes Tea & Coffee have been custodians of the building since 1937. The two upper storeys of the shops are jettied forward and at the corners there are carved figures of angels. The shops were partly dismantled and re-erected in 1901–02 under the supervision…

The bridge has a single ashlar arch with a span of about 22 ft. The oldest part is the centre, which was originally about 33 ft long. It was made from five barrel vaulted ribs, of which the three inner ribs were wide and the two on the outside were wide. The bridge was extended by in the downstream direction in about 1235 to accommodate a bridge chapel. The extension was supported by quadripartite vaulting. At some point after this, two of the middle ribs under the original bridge and some of the vaulting connecting the original part to the extension was removed and replaced with brickwork, apparently to make the arch shallower at road level. A further extension of was added to the upstream…