Clapper Bridge, Postbridge
| Post Bridge | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 The Post Bridge | |
| Location | |
| Type: | Clapper bridge |
| Crossing: | East Dart River |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX64827890 |
| Location: | 50°35’39"N, 3°54’40"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 4 feet 6" |
| Type: | Clapper bridge |
| Material: | Granite slabs |
| History | |
| Built unknown | |
| Information | |
The Clapper Bridge is a clapper bridge four feet six inches long over the East Dart River on Dartmoor, in Devon, in the hamlet of Postbridge. This is the best known of a number of clapper briges on Dartmoor and the finest surviving example. It is complete and can still used to cross the river on foot.
The bridge was once known as the Post Bridge, and thus gives its name to the village.
The bridge consists of three massive granite slabs, each 13 feet long six feet six inches wide and weighing more than eight tons, supported on two granite pillars in the river. There are steps up to the bridge at either end.
The origin of the bridge is unknown. It is first recorded in the 14th century, and scholarly theory is that it may have been built in the 13th century to enable pack horses to cross the river, carrying tin to the stannary town of Tavistock. Its ancient design though is timeless and it is widely believed in Devon to be prehistoric.
In October 1879, major restoration work was carried out on the bridge: a slab which a local farmer had tipped off a century before (in a failed attempt to dam the river) was recovered from the river bed and replaced on the pillars (at a total cost of £4. 8s). Further repairs were carried out in 1970 when it was noticed that one of the central piers was leaning thus leaving a slab precariously resting on just an inch and a half of post.[1]
The modern bridge on the East Dart, carrying the Tavistock to Moretonhampstead road, was built in 1780s and stands just 25 yards upstream of the ancient bridge.
Protection
The bridge is a Grade II* listed structure.[2][3] and a Scheduled Ancient Monument[4]
The modern road bridge is also a Grade II listed structure, as a Georgian bridge.[5]
References
- ↑ Legendary Dartmoor: Postbridge
- ↑ National Heritage List 1105432: Clapper Bridge, Postbridge
- ↑ National Heritage List 1105432: Clapper Bridge, Postbridge
- ↑ National Heritage List 1002508: Clapper Bridge, Postbridge
- ↑ National Heritage List 1170849: Road Bridge, Postbridge
- Greeves, T & Stanbrook, E: The Clapper Bridge – Postbridge (Quay Publishing, Brixham, 2004)