1) The location of a bridge abutment, that is the structure which supported the bridge arch and linked it to the land.
1418 ‘the landstathe at the foot of the steps’, York. The contract for Catterick Bridge is in English throughout and more explicit, specifying that the proposed new bridge should be of stane … in mason craft acordand in substance to Barnacastelle brigge, aftir the ground and the watyr acordes, of twa pilers, twa land stathes, and thre arches. The land-staithe was later listed as part of the tymbir werke for which the builders were responsible, and this suggests that it was a kind of wooden platform for the masonry of the abutment. If that is correct it lay over the brandreth and piles. I have not found the word later than 1595, when Ł20 was charged for amending of Catterick Bridge land stare. The editor’s comment on this word was that the spelling reflected the local pronunciation of ‘staithe’, and this spelling can be compared with ‘land-stay’ below.