Medieval Bridges of Southern England: 100 Bridges, 1000 Years

Throughout history rivers have been a hub for human settlement and have long been a key part of local livelihoods, history and culture, as well as still playing a present-day role in providing services and leisure to people who live around them. It is no coincidence that all four of the earliest human civilisations were formed on great rivers: the Nile, Euphrates, Indus and Yellow rivers all saw great human aggregation along them. The most ancient and vital architectural structures linked to the use of rivers are bridges.

There are a wide range of medieval bridge structures, some very simple in their construction, to amazing triumphs of design and engineering comparable with the great churches of the period. They stand today as proof of the great importance of transport networks in the Middle Ages and of the size and sophistication of the medieval economy. These bridges were built in some of the most difficult places, across broad flood plains, deep tidal waters, and steep upland valleys, and they withstood all but the most catastrophic floods. Yet their beauty, from simplistic to ornate, remains for us to appreciate.

Medieval Bridges of Southern England has been organised geographically into tours, and covers the governmental regions of Southwest England, London, and Southeast England. There are exactly 100 bridges included. There is an introduction and background information about the medieval period of English history at the beginning and there are beautiful full colour photographs throughout the book.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction
Defining Medieval
Medieval Period Overview
Criteria for Inclusion
Medieval Timeline
Chronology and Dating
Bridges and Medieval Road Networks
Basic Components of a Medieval Bridge
Medieval Bridges and the Church
The Economics of Medieval Bridges
Medieval Bridge Types
Medieval Bridge Builders
Islands in the Stream
Cutwaters
Longevity
List of Medieval Bridges in Southern England by Region and County
Listed Bridges and Structures
National Grid Reference Numbers
The Bridge Tours
The Star Rating System
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE & NORTH OXFORDSHIRE TOUR
NORTHEAST CORNWALL TOUR
CENTRAL CORNWALL NORTH TOUR
CENTRAL CORNWALL SOUTH TOUR
NORTH DEVON TOUR
SOUTHEAST DEVON TOUR
SOUTHWEST DEVON TOUR
EAST DEVON TOUR
NORTH DORSET TOUR
SOUTHEAST DORSET TOUR
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
HAMPSHIRE
KENT TOUR
LONDON TOUR
EAST OXFORDSHIRE TOUR
WEST OXFORDSHIRE & KEBLE’S BRIDGE TOUR
EAST SOMERSET TOUR
CENTRAL SOMERSET TOUR
WEST SOMERSET TOUR
SURREY TOUR
TITCHFIELD & WEST SUSSEX TOUR
NORTH WILTSHIRE & IFORD TOUR
SOUTH WILTSHIRE & FORDINGBRIDGE TOUR
A Glossary for Medieval Bridges
Bridge Index
Acknowledgements
Bibliography

Marshall G. Hall is a retired UK university professor of Socio-anthropology who has held a lifelong interest in travel, architecture, linguistics, and adventure. Having written for academia for years, today Marshall writes, teaches the occasional university class as a guest lecturer, and does public speaking. In 2021, Marshall published Historic Bridges of Buckinghamshire for Windgather Press, and in 2022, Medieval Bridges of Southern England: 100 Bridges, 1000 Years was published, which was the first of a three-volume series on medieval bridges of England.