Smith's Bridge
River Yeo, Bradford Abbas, Dorset, DT9 6RE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1119407
- Date first listed:
- 11-Jul-1951
- List Entry Name:
- Smith's Bridge
- Statutory Address:
- River Yeo, Bradford Abbas, Dorset, DT9 6RE
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 1999-08-12
- Reference:
- IOE01/00106/06
- Rights:
- © Mr Brian Haigh. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1119407
- Date first listed:
- 11-Jul-1951
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 30-Jun-2015
- List Entry Name:
- Smith's Bridge
- Statutory Address 1:
- River Yeo, Bradford Abbas, Dorset, DT9 6RE
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- River Yeo, Bradford Abbas, Dorset, DT9 6RE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Dorset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Clifton Maybank
- District:
- Dorset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Bradford Abbas
- National Grid Reference:
- ST5896314032
Summary
A road bridge over the River Yeo, built in the later C16, with the north-west parapet being rebuilt in 1972 and again in 2009 after being demolished by vehicle strikes.
Reasons for Designation
Smith’s Bridge, a multi-span road bridge of the late C16, with the north-west parapet being rebuilt in 1972 and 2009, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as an enduring construction of a simple design, with good-quality materials and detailing;
* Date: as an important example of a Tudor road bridge;
* Survival: Smith's Bridge survives in its original form, and retains its original masonry and features;
* Historic interest: as a surviving testament to the evolution of road transport during the Tudor period.
History
Smith's Bridge stands to the south of Bradford Abbas and carries a narrow, sunken road across the River Yeo. Although the bridge is mentioned in the ‘Itinerary of John Leland in or About the Years 1535-1543’, the present structure was probably built in the later C16. In 1972 the whole of the north-west parapet was demolished by a vehicle strike and subsequently rebuilt using the original stones. The north-west parapet was again demolished by a vehicle strike in 2009 and rebuilt using a mixture of original and new stones.
Details
A road bridge, built in the later C16, with the north-west parapet being rebuilt in 1972 and again in 2009 after being demolished by vehicle strikes.
MATERIALS: of limestone ashlar.
DESCRIPTION: the bridge is aligned north-east to south-west and has two, four-centered arches with chamfered voussoirs which die into the abutments and central pier. The north-west (upstream) and south-east (downstream) sides both have a central, triangular-shaped cutwater. At road level there is an oversailing course surmounted by low parapet walls which is in turn surmounted by a wrought-iron railing. The coping stones are held together by wrought-iron clamps set in lead.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 105541
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
The Royal Commission on Historical Monuments: West Dorset, Volume 1, (1952), 148
Wallis, A J, Dorset Bridges A History and Guide, (1974), 73
McFetrich, D, Parsons, J, Discover Dorset Bridges, (1998), 23
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 12-Jun-2026 at 03:15:25.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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