Gallox Bridge

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1014410
Date first listed:: 25-May-1934

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1014410
Date first listed:: 25-May-1934
Date of most recent amendment:: 28-Jun-1996

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Somerset (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Dunster
National Park:: EXMOOR
National Grid Reference:: SS 98952 43204

Reasons for Designation

Multi-span bridges date to the medieval period and were constructed in stone or wood. They carried a road or trackway across a river by means of two or more arches supported on piers set into the bed of the watercourse. Bridges frequently replaced earlier fords. Individual bridges were commonly located in relation to settlements. Multi-span bridges were common during the medieval period. However a survey in the 1930s recorded only 150 bridges of medieval date still standing, excluding those in Devon and Cornwall. All multi-span bridges which retain much of their medieval fabric are worthy of protection. The multi-span bridge in Dunster is a robust monument surviving in its original form and in good condition. It still serves the purpose for which it was constructed, and is an integral part of the medieval landscape of Dunster.

Details

The monument includes a packhorse bridge known as `Gallox Bridge' which spans the River Avill on the southern outskirts of Dunster. The bridge has a roadway width of 1.2m, a total width of 1.9m and is 13.5m long. It has two arches which are slightly pointed and have double arch rings. Each side has four narrow chamfered ribs. There is a cut-water on the upstream side which is 0.5m long. The bridge leads to a causeway skirting a ford on the north side. It is still used as a public footbridge, and is a survivor of the simple type of stone bridge to be found in the West Country and elsewhere. It is reputed to be of 15th century date. The bridge is Listed Grade I and is in the care of the Secretary of State.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 22093
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Other
Ancient Monuments Terrier, (1969)

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.