Feature Assessment: Built Environment / Bridges
# Clapper and packhorse bridges [we need to add the map in]
Overall vulnerability |
# Features assessed:
- Clapper bridges
- Packhorse bridges
# Special qualities:
- Landscapes that tell a story of thousands of years of people, farming and industry
# Feature description:
Clapper bridges are simple footbridges consisting of one or more large slabs of stone placed over a watercourse either directly onto each bank or supported on stone piers. In the PDNP there are a small number of clapper bridges. Examples include two gritstone bridges spanning Barbrook on the Eastern Peak District Moors, two limestone bridges located near Hassop, and impressive gritstone bridges with multiple supports over the River Bradford near Youlgreave.
Packhorse bridges are more advanced structures which were built to allow packhorses carrying goods to cross watercourses. These are slightly more abundant with 15 examples mapped by the PDNPA in locations across the Dark, White and South West Peak. In the PDNP the majority of these bridges date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, although some may be significantly older. Both of these bridge types were historically used as transport infrastructure for trade and hold a high historical value. There are other bridges that are important too – sometimes medieval, that have not been addressed within the scope of this assessment.
# How vulnerable are building materials?
Clapper and packhorse bridges in the PDNP have been rated ‘moderate’ on our vulnerability scale. This score is due to a moderate sensitivity and exposure to climate change variables, a variable current condition, and a moderate adaptive capacity.
The impact of changed precipitation regimes are likely to be the most significant for these features. An increase in erosion and the potential for structural damage through attrition or large flooding incidents could be detrimental, making all bridges more vulnerable. While traditional building materials and techniques have displayed a good deal of resistance to date, and it should be possible to repair some damage, irreplaceable historic information may be lost. There are a limited number of these features, and they have limited diversity. Non-designated bridges on privately owned land or not carrying public rights of way will possibly be the most vulnerable of these features as they are often little understood and may have limited monitoring and maintenance.
Overall potential impact rating | |
Overall adaptive capacity rating |
# Current condition
Information about the current condition of packhorse bridges in the PDNP is incomplete, but overall condition appears to be variable. Of the 15 packhorse bridges mapped two have been reconstructed, one is known to have been ruined. Six have listed status and one has been delisted. Some bridges such as the grade II listed example at Three Shires Head are known to have been modified, in that case with the addition of a concrete roadway. Examples of known damage to bridges include the loss of coping stones and nearby surface rutting as a result of four-wheel drive vehicle use at Washgate over the River Dove. It is also known that bridges which take vehicle traffic have been subject to damage from air pollution. Clapper bridge condition information could not be found, but all examples appear to be relatively intact, and at least two are grade II listed.