![Dow_Bridge_(old_drawing)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Dow_Bridge_%28old_drawing%29.jpg)
Dow Bridge is a location in the
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
where the
A5 road
A5 Road may refer to:
;Africa
*A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan
* A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown
;Americas
* Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada
* County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...
(the former
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...
) crosses the
River Avon. It is the point where the three counties of
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
and
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
meet, forming a
tripoint
A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...
.
A bridge has existed at the location since Roman times. The sixteenth century antiquary
John Leland wrote 'Where this bridge is there were two smaller ones, the wider for carriages, the lesser, evidently Roman, for foot passengers and horses.' The site was for centuries believed to have been the location of the Roman town of
Tripontium
Tripontium (Latin for "Place of three bridges") was a town in Roman Britain. It lay on the Roman road later called Watling Street (and known today as the A5) at a site now chiefly within the civil parish of Churchover in the English county of ...
, however this was later discovered around a mile to the north. The bridge was rebuilt in around 1776 by the Road Commissioners, consisting of five brick arches and was again rebuilt in 1838, incorporating parts of the earlier bridge. On this bridge was a stone called the 'Three Shires Stone' marking the junction of the three counties. This bridge became
grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1990. It is now disused having been replaced by a modern road bridge to the west which was built in the 1930s.
It lies close to the Warwickshire villages of
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
and
Clifton-upon-Dunsmore
Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire in England on the north-eastern outskirts of Rugby, approximately from Rugby town centre. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,304. ...
(the bridge being in the parish of the former) the Leicestershire village of
Catthorpe
Catthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is located beside the River Avon and close to the A5 road, and hence close to the tripoint at Dow Bridge formed by Leicestershire, Northamptonshi ...
and the Northamptonshire village of
Lilbourne
Lilbourne is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the M1 motorway which runs east of the village, and the A5 road, west of the village which marks the boundary with Warwickshire, slightly to the north i ...
.
See also
*
No Man's Heath, Warwickshire
No Man's Heath is an area of North Warwickshire about northeast of Tamworth. It is near the boundaries of four English counties: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. Nearby in the late 19th century were Netherseal Coll ...
, meeting point of Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Staffordshire.
*
Four Shire Stone, meeting point of Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire (formerly also Worcestershire)
References
{{coord, 52.396599, -1.202795, display=title
Bridges in Warwickshire
Grade II listed bridges in Warwickshire
Geography of Northamptonshire
Geography of Warwickshire
Geography of Leicestershire