Midge Hole Bridge, Trawden Forest, Lancashire

Entry Name: Midge Hole Bridge

Listing Date: 8 December 2015

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1426882

ID on this website: 101426882

Location: Pendle, Lancashire, BB8

County: Lancashire

District: Pendle

Civil Parish: Trawden Forest

Traditional County: Lancashire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Lancashire

Church of England Parish: Trawden St Mary

Church of England Diocese: Blackburn

Tagged with: Bridge

Summary

Bridge, medieval or post-medieval in date, with later parapet.

Description

Bridge, medieval or post-medieval in date, with later parapet.

A single span bridge spanning Trawden Brook, constructed of lightly dressed rubble stonework. One side of the arch springs from a large bedrock slab while the other side is constructed to the bottom of the stream bed. The bridge comprises a segmental arch with neatly laid roughly wedge-shaped voussoirs. There is a low slightly splayed parapet of similar stonework.

History

Trawden Forest was one of several forests in the area developed for oxen or ‘vaccary’ farming around 1200 by the de Lacey overlords, based in Pontefract. Deer hunting continued to take place in enclosed parks such as that in Trawden known as Trawden chase, which contained a hunting lodge called Stag Hall. The vaccary farms and deer parks of this area have undergone study for more than a decade and their boundaries have been identified. The original C13 route from Yorkshire to Stag Hall has been traced as part of this study as a series of hollow ways and public footpaths, and this early route crossing the Trawden Brook at the location of the present Midge Hole Bridge. While this does not provide conclusive dating evidence that the present bridge is medieval in date, its quality and size suggest it is a bridge of some antiquity. By the time of the survey of the First Edition Ordnance Survey map in 1844, the importance of the route had declined and it is depicted as a footbridge.

Reasons for Listing

Midge Hole Bridge, of medieval or post medieval date, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a small single-span road bridge of modest construction that nevertheless demonstrates consideration in its design and use of materials;
* Intactness: it is an intact structure and the added parapets, of uncertain date have been constructed in the same style and materials;
* Date: dating from the medieval or post-medieval period it falls within the periods when most bridges are listed.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.