Exploring GB

The Essex Bridge in Staffordshire is the longest remaining packhorse bridge in England.

The Scheduled Monument and Grade 1 listed structure crosses over the Rover Trent near Great Haywood in Staffordshire.

It was built in 1550 by the then Earl of Essex for Queen Elizabeth I, so that when she visited the estate she could go hunting in the woodland nearby.

Queen Elizabeth I was the Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603.

She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and she became one of the most famous and influential monarchs in English history.

Remarkably, The Essex Bridge has 14 of its original 40 round span arches left.

It's been described as "probably the least altered old bridge in the county" and it’s still in use today.

Multi-span bridges were constructed throughout the medieval period for the use of pedestrians and packhorse or vehicular traffic, crossing rivers or streams, often replacing earlier fords.

During the early medieval period, timber was used, but from the 12th century stone (and later brick) bridges became more common, with the piers sometimes supported by a timber raft.

The bridge abutments and revetting of the river banks also form part of the bridge.

Where medieval bridges have been altered in later centuries, original features are sometimes concealed behind later stonework, including remains of earlier timber bridges.

The roadway was often originally cobbled or gravelled.

The building and maintenance of bridges was frequently carried out by the church and by guilds, although landowners were also required to maintain bridges.

From the mid-13th century the right to collect tolls, known as pontage, was granted to many bridges, usually for repairs; for this purpose many urban bridges had houses or chapels on them, and some were fortified with a defensive gateway.

Medieval multi-span bridges must have been numerous throughout England, but most have been rebuilt or replaced and less than 200 examples are now known to survive.

As a rare monument type largely unaltered, surviving examples and examples that retain significant medieval and post-medieval fabric are considered to be of national importance.

Though reduced in its length, Essex Bridge still remains as the longest surviving packhorse bridge in England.

Archaeological features may also survive beneath and near to the existing structure, which will contain important information about any earlier timber bridges, its construction and use.

If you’d like to visit this bridge, the address is: 8 Trent Ln, Great Haywood, Stafford ST18 0ST.

A nearby attraction is the ancient Stafford Castle, which is Grade II listed.

From the time of the Norman Conquest and as recorded in the Domeday Book of 1086, the castle was the seat of the powerful Anglo-Norman Stafford family.

However, the 14th-century stone keep was demolished in 1643 during the Civil War, having been held for the Royalists by Lady Isabel Stafford.

The castle was remodeled in the early 19th century by the Jerningham family in the Gothic Revival style, on the foundations of the medieval structure, and incorporates much of the original stonework.

Today the A518 Stafford-to-Newport Road passes next to it and it is a prominent local landmark visible from the M6 motorway.

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