Gallox Bridge
| Gallox Bridge | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gallox Bridge | |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | Pedestrians |
| Crossing: | River Avill |
| Location | |
| Location: | 51°10’44"N, 3°26’45"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 44 feet |
| Material: | stone |
| History | |
| Built 15th century | |
| Information | |
| Website: | Gallox Bridge |
The Gallox Bridge is a 15th-century stone packhorse bridge in Dunster in Somerset, which crosses the River Avill. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.[1][2][3]
The bridge today caries only pedestrians and is in the guardianship of English Heritage.
The bridge is a narrow way, and crosses the Avill at the southern end of the village, below Dunster Castle at a point which may have been the limit of tidal flow during the mediæval period. It was important for the transport of wool and other goods to the market within the village which was established by 1222. The name is derived from the nearby gallows. The bridge is approached by a raised causeway for pedestrians, while wheeled traffic uses the adjacent ford.
History
The bridge crosses the River Avill which rises on the eastern slopes of Dunkery Beacon and flows north through Timberscombe and Dunster flowing into the Bristol Channel at Dunster Beach. It is likely that there was a previous bridge on the same site as in the 14th century it was known as Doddebrigge.[4] The bridge may have been at the limit of the tidal mouth of the river during the Middle Ages.[5] Dunster Beach, which includes the mouth of the River Avill, is now located approximately half a mile from the village, and used to have a significant harbour, known as Dunster Haven, which was used for the export of wool from Saxon times: it was last used in the 17th century and has now disappeared among the dykes, meadows and marshes near the shore.[6]
Dunster had become a centre for woollen and clothing production by the 13th century, with the market dating back to at least 1222, and a particular kind of kersey or broadcloth became known as 'Dunsters'.[5][7] The prosperity of Dunster was based on the wool trade, with profits helping to pay for the construction of the tower of the Priory Church of St George and provide other amenities.
About the bridge and the village
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The name Gallox is believed to be derived from gallows as the village gallows were nearby,[8] when it was called Gallocksbrigge.[9]
The bridge is close to Dunster Watermill and the base of the hill on which Dunster Castle sits and povides access to the site of the deer park. It also falls within the Dunster Conservation Area.[10]
The bridge has been in state guardianship since the 1950s and is now in the care of English Heritage.[11]
Architecture
It is a narrow stone packhorse bridge, on the southern outskirts of Dunster, with two arches over the River Avill. It has a roadway width of 3 feet 10 inches, a total width of 6 feet 4 inches and is 44 feet long.[12] The side of the bridge each have four narrow chamfered ribs.[2] The approach from the village is by way of a raised causeway.[13]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Gallox Bridge) |
- Dunster Gallox Bridge – English Heritage
- Dunster Gallox Bridge: History and research – English Heritage history and heritage
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1296207: Gallox Bridge
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Heritage List 1014410: Gallox Bridge
- ↑ National Heritage List 1296207: Gallox Bridge
- ↑ Gallox Bridge: History and research English Heritage, history
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gathercole, Clare. "Dunster" (PDF). The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey. Somerset County Council. http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/Somerset_EUS_Dunster.pdf. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
- ↑ Farr, Grahame (1954). Somerset Harbours. London: Christopher Johnson. pp. 138–140.
- ↑ "Yarn Market Dunster". Everything Exmoor. http://www.everythingexmoor.org.uk/encyclopedia_detail.php?ENCid=1133. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ↑ "Gallox Bridge". Crown Estate. http://www.dunsterestate.co.uk/things-to-see-do/see-dunster-estate/gallox-bridge/. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ↑ Carter, Katy (2004). Heritage Unlocked: Guide to free sites in Devon, Dorset and Somerset. English Heritage. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-1850748755.
- ↑ "MSO9409 - Gallox Packhorse Bridge, Dunster". Exmoor National Park. http://www.exmoorher.co.uk/hbsmr-web/record.aspx?UID=MSO9409-Gallox-Packhorse-Bridge-Dunster. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ↑ Chapple, Nick. "A History of the National Heritage Collection. Volume Eight: 1970-1983". English Heritage. p. 30. http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/038_2014WEB.pdf. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 36854 – Gallox Bridge
- ↑ Everything Exmoor: Gallox Bridge, Dunster