Tarr Steps is a

clapper bridge A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country (Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor) and in other upland areas of the United Kingdom including Snowdonia and Anglesey, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, L ...

across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. The bridge is in a national nature reserve about south east of

Withypool Withypool (formerly Widepolle, Widipol, Withypoole) is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Withypool and Hawkridge, in the Somerset (district), Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, near the ...

and north west of Dulverton. A typical clapper bridge construction, the bridge's listing assesses it as medieval in origin. The stone slabs weigh up to two tons each. The bridge is long and has 17 spans. It has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

Nature reserve

Owned by Exmoor National Park Authority, Tarr Steps Woodland National Nature Reserve covers 33 hectares of the River Barle valley. This is mainly sessile oak (''Quercus petraea'') woodland, with

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

(Fagus), ash,

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

(''Acer pseudoplatanus''),

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

(''Corylus''),

blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

(''Rubus''), bluebells (''Hyacinthoides non-scripta'') and

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

(''Lonicera''). It is internationally significant for the

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es,

liverworts Liverworts are a group of non-vascular plant, non-vascular embryophyte, land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in wh ...

and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s which flourish in the cool damp conditions. Much of the woodland was once

coppice Coppicing is the traditional method in woodland management of cutting down a tree to a tree stump, stump, which in many species encourages new Shoot (botany), shoots to grow from the stump or roots, thus ultimately regrowing the tree. A forest ...

d, primarily to provide charcoal for the local

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

smelting industry. The river and the valley woodlands are part of the Barle Valley

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and abound with wildlife, ranging from

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

dormice A dormouse is a rodent of the family (biology), family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their ...

, including the rare Barbastelle Bat (''Barbastella barbastellus'') and

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

that feed along the unpolluted and fast-flowing river. Well marked footpaths run along the valley between

Simonsbath Simonsbath () is a small village high on Exmoor in the England, English ceremonial county, county of Somerset. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated civil parish on Exmoo ...

and Dulverton and to the village of

. There is a circular walk from the main car park for Tarr Steps down to the river, along the riverbank for about to a footbridge and returning on the other side, crossing the river on the clapper bridge. The main car park and toilets (some from the bridge via a footpath) can be reached from the B3223 road between Withypool and Dulverton. Parking for the disabled and refreshments are available nearer the bridge, as are information panels put up by the Exmoor National Park, giving details of Tarr Steps history and design.

Bridge

Within the reserve is the scheduled monument Tarr Steps , a clapper bridge over the River Barle. The name "clapper bridge" comes from the

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

"''claperius''" which means "pile of stones". It is an ancient form of bridge constructed with large unmortared slabs of stone resting on one another; this is the largest example of its type. There are 17 spans across , the top slabs weigh 1-2 tons and are about above normal water level. The largest slab is over long and is about wide. This is one of the best known monuments on Exmoor. Its age is unknown, as several theories claim that Tarr Steps dates from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

but others date them from around 1400 AD. It has been restored several times in recent years, following flood damage. Over the years the damage provides a good indicator of the strength of each flood. Some of the top slabs have been washed away in extreme flood conditions and they have now all been numbered to facilitate replacement. The Exmoor National Park web site says The bridge was badly damaged by floodwater on 22 December 2012 when steel wires upstream (designed to protect the bridge from damaging debris) were broken by fallen trees washed down the river. Floodwaters carried away part of the bridge again on 21 November 2016, and it has since been rebuilt.

References

External links

{{commons category
Historic photos of Tarr StepsImages of England record of Tarr Steps

Megalithic Portal entry for Tarr Steps

Ancient trackways in England Buildings and structures in West Somerset Archaeological sites on Exmoor History of Somerset Bridges in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset Archaeological sites in Somerset Scheduled monuments in West Somerset Pedestrian bridges in England Stone bridges in the United Kingdom Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Bronze Age sites in Somerset Grade I listed bridges

Nature reserve

Bridge

See also

References

External links