Long Load Bridge

Summary

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 12/10/2016


A multi-span bridge crossing the River Yeo.

Reasons for Designation

Long Load Bridge is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

* Historical interest: the bridge originated in the late-medieval period and has had successive phases of development, each of which is evident in the fabric;
* Historical interest: documentary evidence survives which suggests that the bridge was partially damaged during the English Civil War;
* Architectural interest: the upstream side is a good composition, its cut-water piers practical and attractive in their design to resist the force of the water;
* Intactness: it consists of historic fabric from the C15 to the C19.

History

A multi-span bridge was constructed over the River Yeo at Long Load in the C15. Records from quarter sessions hearings in Wells report an unspecified amount of damage to the bridge caused by the Civil War, and in 1649 an application was made for funds for repair. A record from 1676 states the bridge to be ‘greatly broken and decayed’, so it is assumed that repairs, which involved the complete rebuilding of the central arch, took place after that date. In 1814 iron railings replaced a stone parapet, and the bridge was widened at a cost of £452; the plain west side is likely to have been rebuilt at this point. In 1985 replacement steel railings and coping were installed.

Details

A multi-span bridge originating in the C15 with later partial rebuilding and alteration; it is constructed of local lias with Ham stone dressings, and brick and coursed stone to the upper sections. The bridge, orientated north to south, spans the River Yeo north of Long Load village, connecting that, and Long Sutton parishes.
It has five arches, the outer four of which are segmental pointed, with a wider and taller segmental arch to the centre. The eastern, upstream side has stout cut-water piers between the double-chamfered arches; the western side is plain, with a single chamfer to the arches. It has dressed stone coping and steel railings with curved vertical fixtures.
The span terminates with squat, square, stone-capped piers adjoining low walls. To the south west is a narrow flight of stone steps providing access to the water. Stones are stacked in diagonal courses forming a revetment to the south-west bank; the north-west bank has a wall of roughly coursed lias stone with lime stone coping.

The asset was previously listed twice also at List entry 1056567. This entry was removed from the List on 18th November 2015.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

419377

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Somerset, (1978)
Bentley, J B, Murless, B J, Somerset Roads: The Legacy of the Turnpikes Western Somerset, (1985)
Jervoise, E, The Ancient Bridges of the South of England, (1930), 93

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry