Bill's Walks

Pack Horse Bridges

What is a pack horse bridge? The simple answer is that it is a bridge that was built so that pack horses and their loads could cross an obstruction which was virtually always a river or fast flowing stream. Pack horse bridges had certain characteristics which separated them from other bridges –  a genuine pack horse bridge is defined as being 6 feet wide or less, built prior to 1800 and have known pack horse associations. However there are bridges built before 1800 which appear to be pack horse bridges, and indeed they are the same design, but served as access to cottages etc. and were not on a route so do not actually qualify as a pack horse bridge.

The use of pack horses to carry goods goes back to the transport of salt which was a very important product from early times. The main routes were from Cheshire but smaller salt pans existed down much of the east and south coast. Locally salt was produced at the mouth of the Tees and Tyne and the routes taken can be traced in towns were there are street names such as Salters Road or Lane as in Gosforth and Darlington. Wool also became very important and in 1305 over 45,000 sacks of wool were carried and exported. The peak period for pack horses was from 1650 to 1800 when all manner of goods were carried, including fish to London as well as corn, coal, charcoal and in our region lead and iron ores. These were all carried in panniers which were slung on wooden pack frames on the side of the horse. To ensure that there was adequate clearance the parapets on pack horse bridges were very low or entirely absent. When the trade ceased parapets were often added to the bridge for the safety of pedestrians. Over the years many routes have either disappeared or been upgraded to roads and in the latter case this normally meant that the bridge disappeared. Old routes can often be traced by the names of the pubs en route such as Pack Horse Inn as at Tanfield, Burnopfield and High Spen, whilst in Yorkshire Woolpack indicates a pack horse route.

In County Durham there are five good examples of pack horse bridges at Deepdale, Egglestone Abbey, Headlam, Ketton Hall and West Hope with what is probably a pack horse bridge at Thwaite near Barningham. There are none on the Carriers Way as far as l know.

The horses which worked in this region were Galloways from south-west Scotland (hence the Galloway track) and a very local breed which were used in Weardale called Carroway, derived from Carrier-Galloway and used in lead mining.

All of the pack horse bridges mentioned above are (or will be) visited on my walks.

As well as the pubs there are other words associated with pack horseroutes. A ‘badger’ was a pedlar who was licensed to carry corn from an important market to smaller markets, hence The Badger Way on Barningham Moor and The Badger Stone on Ilkley Moor. ‘Stoops’ were guideposts and ‘Jagger’ (which is thought to be a corruption of Jaegar) was a breed of pack horse from Germany. Locally there is a Jaggers Lane at West Gilling on a pack horse route.

The “bible” for bridges is “The Ancient Bridges of England and Wales” by Edwin Jervoise. This 4 volume set from1930 -1936 includes all types of bridges. On pack horses specifically the best book is “The Packhorse Bridges of England” by Ernest Hinchcliffe published by Cicerone. I lean heavily for these notes from that book which is still available. For Jervoise you will have to go to the local library.