Stainforth Bridge, (also known as Stainforth packhorse bridge and Knight Stainforth bridge) is a 17th century, arched packhorse bridge over the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

in Stainforth,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. The bridge was formerly on the main packhorse road between

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and Lancaster, which has been superseded by later roads. It was in private ownership until the 1930s, when it was taken on by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. It is now a

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 ...

structure and provides access to

Stainforth Force Stainforth Force (also known as Stainforth Foss and Ribble Falls), is a high cascade waterfall on the River Ribble at Stainforth, north of Settle in North Yorkshire, England. The waterfall is a popular tourist attraction in autumn when Atlan ...

, which is just below the bridge.

History

The bridge was built by Samuel Watson , a local

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

who owned Knight Stainforth Hall, a Jacobean house which was nearby. Previous to this, the site was a ford which was impassable during times of flood, and a local legend suggests that the crossing was used by the Romans. The bridge carries a minor road, ''Dog Hill Brow'', over the river connecting Knight and Little Stainforth. Besides being a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

road linking York and Lancaster, and a monastic route taken by monks between their houses in Yorkshire and the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, the route was also a packhorse road connecting Clapham with Malham. A covenant was drawn up in the year of the bridge's building stating that people on foot, or with carts and cattle, had "free passage between the towns of Knight Stainforth and Stainforth Under Bargh." The bridge was built by using tradesmen from Stainforth-under-Bargh (now the main village of Stainforth), and in return, the people of Stainforth were afforded full usage rights, as the bridge was also a necessity locally. Both of the bridge abutments are set into solid rock and the bridge itself is long and at its highest point above the normal water level. At its widest point, it reaches . The limestone that the bridge is built on, is part of the Kilnsey Limestone, which is younger than the Chapel House limestone underneath Stainforth Force, which is only below the bridge. On 23 September 1931, the bridge went from private ownership into the National Trust, helped by an endowment by the previous owners. Doubts had been expressed about the structure after heavy motor vehicles had been using it, causing the bridge to be weakened. It was thought that the National Trust could enforce restrictions on heavy goods vehicles more effectively than private owners. The bridge was registered in 1988 by Historic England as a Grade II listed structure under the name of ''Knight Stainforth Bridge''.

Notes

References

Sources

* *{{cite book , last1=Wright , first1=Geoffrey Norman , title=Roads and trackways of the Yorkshire Dales , date=1985 , publisher=Moorland , location=Ashbourne , isbn=0861901231 Bridges across the River Ribble Stone bridges in England Road bridges in England Grade II listed bridges 1675 establishments in England Ribblesdale