County Bridge

History

The town of Sowerby Bridge was named after the bridge across the Calder, the earliest reference perhaps being 1424 in the Wakefield Manor court roll which refers to ‘Sourby-brig’ although there was an earlier reference to a wooden bridge here in 1315. The 1517 date for the stone bridge comes from a record of a bequest from John Dykson for ‘the fabric of the stone bridge at Sowerby six shillings and eight pence’. The local antiquarian H A Kendal, writing in 1915, argued that the arches at either end of the bridge include the arches of the C16 bridge, the central arch having been rebuilt after flood damage in 1673 resulted in the removal of a central pier, the bridge having been already widened in 1632. More recent survey and documentary research (2011) suggests that the earliest exposed stonework probably dates to the mid-C17, the bridge being depicted in Robert Carr and John Watson’s ‘A Book of Bridges’, the bridge subsequently being widened sometime between 1752 and 1823, probably with the establishment of the Halifax and Rochdale Turnpike Road in the 1790s. Further work to the bridge appears to have occurred in 1823 with the purchase of land to the north-east previously occupied by a chapel, this work possibly relating to wing walls and cutwaters. Responsibility for the bridge passed to the West Riding in 1875, after which the bridge became known as County Bridge. Around this time the bridge was widened with an iron superstructure. Further widening was proposed in 1876 and approved in 1878 but may not have been undertaken. In 1979 a retaining wall collapsed revealing the earlier stonework within the core of the bridge.

Details

This list entry was subjected to a Minor Enhancement 11 June 2024 to amend details in the description add Historical Note and Sources

SE 0423 and SE 0523
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SOWERBY BRIDGE
TOWN HALL STREET
County Bridge

GV
II

Road bridge across the River Calder. First stone bridge 1517, widened 1632 and again 1875.
Coursed squared stone and cast iron. The stone bridge is of three shallow segmental arches supported on piers with triangular-section cutwaters, some of the cutwaters having been rebuilt. These arches are now recessed beneath the 1875 superstructure that widened the bridge deck. This superstructure consists of lattice girders that span between the stone cutwaters on the eastern side and are supported by round iron piers on the western side. The bridge has cast iron balustrades formed by pierced panels, the piercings being regularly and closely spaced with rounded tops and bases. The balustrades have panelled end posts with finials.

Listing NGR: SE0589823524

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

339412

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Sowerby Bridge Chamber of Trade and Commerce Official Tourist Guide, (1985)
Kendal, H.P, Sowerby Bridge and Stirk Bridge in Transactions of the Halifax Antiquarian Society, Vol. 176, (1915), 65-83
Sowerby Bridge Civic Society, , Sowerby Bridge Trial, ()

Other
West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2011 ‘County Bridge, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire: Building Recording and Structural Watching Brief’
Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire Historic Area Assessment (2024) Historic England Research Report 23/2024, p37, 88-91

End of official list entry

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