Postbridge Clapper Bridge
The Postbridge Clapper Bridge is a medieval stone slab bridge over the East Dart -River in place Postbridge in from granite stones interspersed hills of Dartmoor in the county ( county ) Devon in southwest England .
function
The main purpose of the bridge was to improve the route for pack animals to transport tin from the nearby mines to the Tavistock and Chagford smelters . When crossing the river before building the bridge, pack animals often injured their hooves in the stony and slippery river bed or broke their legs in a fall, so that their load was wet or even washed away. On the other hand, sometimes it was certainly not easy to get the animals to cross the jetty that was not secured on the side.
history
The exact time when the Postbridge Clapper Bridge was built is unknown. However, since it was mentioned in a document as early as the 13th century, it is likely that it was built in the Middle Ages. Later repairs to the bridge are not documented; In the 1780s, a modern three-arched stone arch bridge was built in the immediate vicinity. In 1879 one of the two middle web plates was removed from the river and reinserted .
construction
The approximately 8.50 m long, laterally slightly sloping stone slab footbridge consists of two granite stone pillars that are about 2 m long and about 0.50 m wide and placed in the river. A total of four monolithic stone slabs, about 4 m long, 1.40 m wide, 0.20 m thick and weighing up to 8 t, rest on these pillars , which had to be brought in from a distance of about 2 to 3 km. On both banks there are short, stepped staircases approx. 1 m high, but they probably originate from a later time because they were almost impassable for pack animals.
See also
Web links
- Entry of Clapper Bridge at Historic England (English)
- Postbridge Clapper Bridge - Photos + Info (English)
- Postbridge Clapper Bridge - Photos + Info (English)
- Postbridge Clapper Bridge - Video
Coordinates: 50 ° 35 ′ 39 " N , 3 ° 54 ′ 40" W.