Description

BARNSTAPLE

SS5533 PILTON CAUSEWAY, Pilton
684-1/6/309 Pilton Bridge and causeway S of
31/08/88 Pilton Quay, incl gates & piers to
Pilton Park
(Formerly Listed as:
PILTON BRIDGE AND CAUSEWAY, Pilton
Whole length of bridge & causeway
from Pilton Quay ... to bridge over
mill leat)

II

Bridge and causeway crossing and skirting the River Yeo. 1451,
bridge rebuilt 1678; both widened by 3m in 1821.
Bridge is of rubble with coping of chamfered granite blocks.
It has 2 round arches springing from a central pier with low
cutwater on W side (E side is buried under late C20
roadworks). Above the cutwater is a shallow buttress rising to
a plain string course just above the voussoirs of the arches.
Similar buttress at S end. Parapet on W side only. The
underside of the bridge (seen from a distance) seems to show
evidence of 2 builds.
Parapet, complete with chamfered granite coping, continues
right down the western side of the causeway, interrupted by 4
gates. The most northerly of these is a late C20 insertion,
but the middle 2 (entering Pilton Park) are mid or late C19
with square stone ashlar piers and moulded tops; the low
pyramidal caps appear to have been replaced in concrete.
Original cast-iron gates survive, with spearheads and circular
panels containing flowers; at the bottom a pair of
intersecting diagonal braces with a boss bearing an illegible
inscription. Southern gate, also leading into the park, has
square piers of coursed stone rubble with pyramidal caps
encased in cement.
HISTORICAL NOTE: in 1451 Bishop Lacey granted an indulgence to
penitents contributing to the bridge and causeway between
Pilton and Barnstaple. In 1897, during work on the Lynton and
Barnstaple railway, a 2-foot square stone was found,
inscribed: `This causeway and the bridge were widened ten feet
by public subscription in the year 1821 Shaddick and Knill,
builders'.
Bridge over mill leat to south not included.
(Gribble JP: Memorials of Barnstaple: 1830-: 567-8, 618;
Gardiner WF: Barnstaple, 1837-1897: 1897-: 229; Chanter JR &
Wainwright T: Barnstaple Records: 1900-: 248).

Listing NGR: SS5574633736

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26665050

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)