Catterick Bridge

1) Bridge of the River Swale, about a mile north of Catterick. Also the name of a hamlet at the south of the bridge.

The contract for this new stone bridge was drawn up in 1422, in English, and it is surely one of the earliest documents of its kind on record. Several transcriptions have been published, one by J.C. Atkinson, and another more recently by Salzman: they differ in some important details. It is notable especially because the attention of the masons was drawn to Barnacastelle brigge, no doubt in the hope that Catterick would be built with the same degree of skilled workmanship, serving as a model for the future. In this respect it can be compared with Elland Bridge which had a similar role in later West Riding bridge contracts.

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Photo by Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0