Newby Bridge Cumbria - Stone Bridges on Waymarking.com

This would have been a wooden bridge several hundred years ago. Replaced with wooden spans, until enough money was found to create a stone bridge. Repairs were paid for through charging a toll, helped by the turnpike act. These early bridges would have had no hand rails nor parapets, making crossing quite scary, as it would have been only just wide enough for a cart. Parapets are a modern invention.

Modern coping stone has bridge name chiselled on. A scheduled monument and a grade 2 star listed building. This bridge was the only crossing point at the south end of Windermere (lake). All traffic going to Furness had to cross here, if they did not cross Morecambe Bay sands from Hest Bank to Kents Bank, a much shorter route.

There are woodcut drawings in nearby Swan Hotel of the old bridge.
Old county boundary ran down middle of Leven river, making administration of this bridge a bureaucratic problem.

Bridge is on a slow bend on north side of the A590.

Swan Hotel has a gallery of images of the bridge. (visit link)

Physical Location (city, county, etc.): Newby Bridge, Cumbria LA12 8NB UK Road, Highway, Street, etc.: un-named B road Water or other terrain spanned: River Leven Construction Date: 1651 Architect/Builder: Not listed

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