Town Bridge

A multi-span bridge, dating from the late C15 or early C16; widened in the C17.

MATERIALS The bridge is constructed of ashlar and squared rubble stone.

DESCRIPTION The bridge, which has six two-centred arches, carries a road 18ft (approx. 4m) wide across the River Stour. The arches to the earlier, 12ft-wide bridge, which are visible to both sides, are slightly gradated, have chamfered ashlar archivolts ending in run-out stops at springing level. The C17 aches are segmental-pointed and spring from corbelled string courses inserted above the cutwaters of the original piers. Between each pair of arches the points of the cutwaters extend upwards to road level. The larger, central cutwaters are corbelled out at the top to form pedestrian refuges to either side of the road. The level of the roadway is marked to both sides by hollow-chamfered string courses, much weathered, above which are squared parapets with coping, a single row to the road side, and in two stages to the river side. The central upstream cutwater has a datestone for 1820, which is upside down when viewed from alongside the bridge, but appears correctly when viewed from the roadway on the bridge. The most northerly cutwater on the same side carries a datestone for 1827. The entrances to the bridge have splayed parapets. Town Bridge is one of a number of bridges in the county to have an iron plaque affixed, in this case within the downstream refuge, which carries the text ‘ANY PERSON WILFULLY INJURING ANY PART OF THIS COUNTY BRIDGE WILL BE GUILTY OF FELONY AND UPON CONVICTION LIABLE TO BE TRANSPORTED FOR LIFE’.

The bridge is known as Town Bridge or Sturminster Newton Bridge.