Balder Bridge is a Grade II* listed building in the County Durham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 January 1967. A Medieval Bridge.

Balder Bridge

WRENN ID
scattered-brick-acorn
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
County Durham
Constituency
Bishop Auckland MP: Dr Sam Rushworth (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
12 January 1967
Type
Bridge
Period
Medieval
Address
Balder Bridge, B 6277, Hunderthwaite
OS grid reference
NZ 009 200
Coordinates
54.5755, -1.98738
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Balder Bridge is a road bridge over the River Balder, likely built in the 15th century and rebuilt around 1681. The upstream side was widened in 1896, and parts of the downstream parapet and upstream face were rebuilt in 1983. The bridge is constructed of sandstone ashlar, with sections that are snecked and rock-faced.

The roadway is supported by four medieval ribs, with two similar ribs added to the upstream side in 1896. The downstream face features a depressed-pointed arch with two chamfered orders, a band with a chamfered soffit that rakes to either side above the arch, and a similarly raked, flat-coped parapet. The upstream face has a similar arch, with a horizontal parapet defined by a band and flat coping, along with central corbelled refuge.

This bridge spans the parishes of Cotherstone and Hunderthwaite.

Local climate

Balder Bridge sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 990 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 52% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 56 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 36 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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