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Warwick Old Castle Bridge

In the civil parish of Warwick.
In the historic county of Warwickshire.
Modern Authority of Warwickshire.
1974 county of Warwickshire.
Medieval County of Warwickshire.

OS Map Grid Reference: SP28536463
Latitude 52.79135° Longitude -1.58327°

Warwick Old Castle Bridge has been described as a probable Fortified Bridge.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*.

Description

There is no mention of a town gate on the south. Leland said that 'the strength of the bridge . . . stands for the south gate', and the survey of the bridge in 1774 noted that one of the piers was larger than the rest, suggesting the existence of some kind of barrier. There is no trace of this in Hollar's plan of the town in 1654, but by that time there was certainly a gate at the end of Crosse Street.
It is not known when 'the great bridge' was built but it is probably referred to as early as 1208. In 1373 half of the bridge was 'in ruins and almost broken to the ground', and it was stated that it had customarily been repaired only by charitable means. Grants of pontage were made to a group of burgesses in 1374, 1377, and 1380, and the upkeep of the bridge may have become the responsibility of the Guild of the Holy Trinity and St. Mary in 1383. The Guild of Warwick was still responsible for it in 1545. The bridge was rebuilt upstream in the 18th century and the old bridge was swept away by flood waters in 1795; remains of the medieval structure include three arches in the centre of the river, and fragments on both banks, more extensive on the south where the bridge seems to have ended in a causeway. (VCH)

Ruin of late mediaeval stone, ashlar, bridge over the River Avon by weir. Sections of:- three complete arches in centre of river, one etch by north bank and arch on south bank remain. Simple chamfered moulding to 4-centred arches. Splayed piers hare cutwaters, up stream and down. (Listed Building Report)
Comments

There must have been some sort of toll booth (with a bar gate?) to collect the pontage granted in the 1370s but there doesn't seem to be much to suggest any fortification on the bridge.
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Sources of information, references and further reading
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.
This record last updated 26/07/2017 09:20:08

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