Ribchester Bridge

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox Bridge

| bridge_name = Ribchester Bridge

| image = File:Ribchester Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1080473.jpg

| caption = The northern side of the bridge in 2006

| official_name =

| carries = B6245 (Ribchester Road)

| crosses = River Ribble

| locale = Clayton-le-Dale, Lancashire, England

| maint =

| id =

| design =

| mainspan = {{convert|23.2|m|0}}

| length = {{convert|71.8|m|0}}

| width =

| height =

| clearance =

| below =

| traffic = Yes

| open = {{start date and age|1774|p=yes}}

| closed =

| toll = No

| heritage = Grade II listed

| pushpin_map =

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| coordinates = {{coord|53.81593|-2.51435|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}

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}}

__NOTOC__

Ribchester Bridge is a toll-free, three-span bridge over the River Ribble near Ribchester, Lancashire, England. A Grade II listed structure, located about {{Convert|0.75|mi}} east of the village, it actually crosses the river between the civil parishes of Clayton-le-Dale and Dutton.{{sfnp|Historic England|1072294|ps=}} The bridge carries the two-lane traffic of the B6245 Ribchester Road.{{sfnp|Engineering Timelines|ps=}}

Thought to have been constructed in 1774, it is built of sandstone and consists of three segmental arches on triangular cutwaters, with a string course and a solid parapet.{{sfnp|Hartwell|Pevsner|2009|p=573|ps=}}{{sfnp|Historic England|1072294|ps=}} The bridge has an overall length {{convert|71.8|m}} and width of {{convert|6.8|m}} (deck plus {{convert|300|mm|adj=on}}-wide parapets). The central span in the largest at {{convert|23.2|m}} with a rise of {{convert|5.5|m}}, with the others of differing, slightly smaller dimensions.{{sfnp|Engineering Timelines|ps=}}

This point on the river is above the tidal limit, the banks approximately {{convert|90|ft|m|order=flip}} above the Ordnance datum.{{sfnp|OS 6in map|ps=}} It has been an important crossing for millennia with the Roman fort here positioned to guard it;{{sfnp|Whitaker|1872|p=17|ps= (footnote)}} however, the origin of the earliest bridge is uncertain.{{sfnp|Whitaker|1876|pp=463-464|ps=}} The current bridge's predecessor had been constructed in 1669.{{sfnp|Jervoise|1931|pp=137-138|ps=}} William Stukeley in his 'Itinerarium Curiosum', published in 1721, described it as "a noble bridge of four very large arches" half a mile above Ribchester.{{sfnp|Whitaker|1872|p=21|ps=}} The county authorities must have been aware of problems, as in 1769 tenders were invited for its reconstruction, but it collapsed during a flood in 1772.{{sfnp|Jervoise|1931|pp=137-138|ps=}}{{sfnp|Smith|Shortt|1890|p=263|ps=}}

That bridge had also replaced another of unknown age.{{sfnp|Smith|Shortt|1890|p=263|ps=}} A charter of 1354 gave permission for the building of a bridge of wood or stone across the river at a place called 'Madynford', also granting some land for the use of the ferryman; however, this was possibly considerably downstream, near Osbaldeston Hall,{{sfnp|Whitaker|1876|pp=463-464|ps=}} where a ferry-crossing was still recorded in the mid-19th century.{{sfnp|OS 6in map|ps=}}