Thornborough Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View from the south | |
| Coordinates | 51°59′33″N 0°56′22″W / 51.99248°N 0.93935°W |
| Carries | Pedestrians (from 1974) A421 road (pre-1974) |
| Crosses | Padbury Brook, tributary of River Great Ouse |
| Locale | Buckingham/Thornborough parish border, Buckinghamshire |
| Heritage status | Grade I listed structure |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Stone |
| Total length | 30m (approx) |
| Width | 4m (approx) |
| No. of spans | 6 |
| Piers in water | 3 |
| History | |
| Opened | 14th century |
| Location | |
 | |
Thornborough Bridge is situated on the original Bletchley to Buckingham road, now bypassed by a modern bridge in 1974 for the A421. The bridge is accessible to pedestrians from an adjacent lay-by.
The bridge straddles the parish boundaries of Thornborough and Buckingham, where the parish boundary follows the line of Padbury Brook (also known as The Twins), a tributary of the River Great Ouse. Dating back to the end of the 14th century,[1][2] it is the only surviving mediaeval bridge in Buckinghamshire. The parish division is marked by a boundary stone in the middle of the bridge.[3]
The stone bridge measures approximately 30 m (98 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide, spanning the river with six low arches .[4] Three refuges are formed within the parapet on the south side.
The bridge is Grade I listed by English Heritage.[5]
- ^ "Thornborough Bridge, Buckingham". Transport Heritage. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ AVDC information board on-site "dates to 1400"
- ^ "Parishes: Thornborough". A History of the County of Buckingham. Victoria History of the Counties of England. Vol. 4. 1927. pp. 237–242. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Plate 71: Thornborough and Buckingham, Thornborough Bridge". An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire, Volume 2, North. 1913. p. 71. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Thornborough Bridge, Buckingham". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 23 January 2015.