Polson Bridge is a Grade II listed building in the West Devon local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 May 1989. Road bridge.

Polson Bridge

WRENN ID
night-flagstone-ash
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
West Devon
Constituency
Torridge and Tavistock MP: Sir Geoffrey Cox (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
11 May 1989
Type
Road bridge
Address
Polson Bridge, A 388, Lifton
OS grid reference
SX 355 849
Coordinates
50.6407, -4.32695
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

Polson Bridge is a three-span road bridge that carries the A388, previously known as the A30, over the River Tamar. It was built around 1833, with the central arch being rebuilt using original materials between 1934 and 1935. The bridge is constructed of granite ashlar, featuring slate-stone rubble abutments and granite coping. It has a central wide segmental arch with pointed voussoirs that extend to the soffit, flanked by narrower segmental arches. A flat string course runs along the bridge, with projecting rectangular piers on either side of the central arch that continue to the abutments. The abutments on the south bank of the river include segmental floodwater arches, with the west side featuring projecting keystones and a triangular cutwater between the arches. The bridge spans the River Tamar, which serves as the boundary between the parishes of Lawhitton Rural and Launceston in Cornwall, and Lifton in Devon. It was built on the site of a medieval bridge that was part of the main route into Cornwall.

Local climate

Polson Bridge sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,030 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 82% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 81% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 19 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 80% of listed buildings. Of these, 8 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.

More on this building

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