Wharf Bridge, Itchen Navigation, Winchester
Wharf Bridge, Winchester, SO23 9NL
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1488222
- Date first listed:
- 07-Aug-2024
- List Entry Name:
- Wharf Bridge, Itchen Navigation, Winchester
- Statutory Address:
- Wharf Bridge, Winchester, SO23 9NL
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1488222
- Date first listed:
- 07-Aug-2024
- List Entry Name:
- Wharf Bridge, Itchen Navigation, Winchester
- Location Description:
- SU 48539 28749; the bridge goes over the Itchen Navigation river on the Itchen Way footpath and the path comes off Domum Road in Winchester.
- Statutory Address 1:
- Wharf Bridge, Winchester, SO23 9NL
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:
- Wharf Bridge, Winchester, SO23 9NL
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hampshire
- District:
- Winchester (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Park:
- South Downs
- National Grid Reference:
- SU4853728747
Summary
Cart bridge of around the late C18, spanning the Itchen Navigation.
Reasons for Designation
Wharf Bridge, of around 1760, spanning the Itchen Navigation, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a good example of a well-built, cart bridge which illustrates its intended use through the narrow form and stone pathway;
* it pre-dates 1850 and therefore falls within the period when most bridges are considered to be of special interest;
* it is an intact structure that appears to survive without extensive later modification.
Historic interest:
* it is situated on the Itchen Navigation and part of the infrastructure supporting this important C18 navigation route from Southampton to Winchester.
Group value:
* it has an historical functional relationship with the nearby, Grade II-listed, Black Bridge.
History
In 1617, the City of Winchester paid for a survey of the River Itchen to see if it was possible to provide a waterborne route through to Southampton. In 1665 an Act of Parliament was passed to allow seven investors to dig a canal and connect up the various waterways to create the Itchen Navigation. The construction included a number of new locks, wharves and bridges and is thought to have taken place between 1671 and 1710, although further improvements continued to be added throughout the 1700s.
Despite disputes over water levels and carriage fees, it was used for around 150 years, before the arrival of the railway in 1839 prompted its decline, with the last barge journey recorded as 1869.
Wharf Bridge is thought to be the oldest surviving bridge on the Itchen Navigation, dating from around 1760. It lies just south of Black Bridge, which was constructed in the later C18 or early C19, and listed at Grade II (NHLE reference 1350749).
Details
Cart bridge of around 1760, spanning the Itchen Navigation.
MATERIALS AND PLAN: the bridge is built of multi-hued bricks, with stone coping to the parapets. It is orientated east to west, and now provides pedestrian access across the former Itchen Navigation.
DESCRIPTION: the brick walling is predominantly laid in header bond, with some stretcher bond repair. To either side, the wing walls flare out in a sinuous curve, terminating in a brick pillar. The voussoirs of the broad, round-headed arch are formed by a soldier course of bricks. The stone coping has chisel marks to the side face. The track across the bridge is narrow and was presumably designed for cart traffic. It has a rubble stone base with some larger stone slabs.
Sources
Other
Itchen Navigation Heritage Trail Hampshire - Heritage Report for a Conservation Management Plan (April 2005) by Wessex Archaeology
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 10-Jun-2026 at 11:20:44.
Download a full scale map (PDF)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.