Cartford Bridge is a single-track

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...

in the English

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. Built in 1831,"Cartford Bridge: 'Driven' couple wanted as new toll-keepers"
– BBC News, 15 April 2021 it spans the

River Wyre The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) in length. The river is a County Biological Heritage Site and has a sheltered estuary ...

, connecting

Little Eccleston-with-Larbreck Little Eccleston-with-Larbreck is a civil parish on the southern bank of the River Wyre on the Fylde in the English county of Lancashire. The population taken at the 2011 census was 400. The river is crossed by Cartford Bridge at which, unusu ...

, in the

Borough of Fylde The Borough of Fylde is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It covers part of the Fylde plain, after which it is named. The council's headquarters are in St Annes. Some council departments, including Plann ...

, on the southern side of the river, to

Out Rawcliffe Out Rawcliffe is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Wyre in the Over Wyre area of the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 626. It is the location of the medieval ...

, in the

Borough of Wyre Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 census was 107,749. The district borders the unitary authority area of Blackpool as well as the distr ...

, on its northern side (known locally as "

Over Wyre Over Wyre is the collective name given to a group of villages in Lancashire, England, situated on the Fylde, to the north and east of the River Wyre. The group is usually considered to include Hambleton, Stalmine, Knott End-on-Sea, Preesall, ...

"), carrying both automotive and pedestrian traffic of Cartford Lane. The tolls are £1 for vehicles exceeding five tonnes, 70 p for vehicles exceeding two tonnes, 60p for motorised vehicles not exceeding two tonnes, and 20p for two-wheeled vehicles. (The toll was one

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

for cars, with no charge for motorcycles, in 1908, when the bridge was described as being "very awkward for motor cars, as there are iron channels for the cart wheels, and they are the wrong width for cars".) In 1966, it was one of twelve toll bridges on roads in England of level Class III (now Class "C") or higher. It is in length. The bridge, which is located nine miles from the mouth of the River Wyre at

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

, was built by the squire of Rawcliffe Hall''Local and Personal Laws'' - Part 51
(1862) p.11 in 1831 after both his gamekeeper and his dairyman drowned crossing the ford it replaced. The entire Rawcliffe Hall estate was auctioned off in 1926, to pay the death duties, and the Cartford Bridge Company was formed in 1929. The Thickins family were the toll keepers for over thirty years, until they sold the stewardship in 2021. The Cartford Inn, which dates from at least the 19th century, stands on the southern side of the bridge.

Gallery

File:Cartford Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1570320.jpg, The northern side of the bridge in 2009 File:The Toll House, Cartford Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1092775.jpg, The toll house, on the northern side of the bridge, in 2008

References

External links

"The Cartford Toll Bridge at Little Eccleston in Lancashire"
– Mr H's Hot Pot,

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, February 25, 2019 {{Borough of Fylde buildings Bridges across the River Wyre Buildings and structures in the Borough of Wyre Buildings and structures in the Borough of Fylde Bridges completed in 1831 Toll bridges in England