Burford Bridge

Burford Bridge carries the road out of Burford over the River Windrush at the foot of the High Street, towards Fulbrook. It is a bridge of four low arches with pointed cutwaters, fifteenth century in origin and heavily remodelled in 1791, and it is listed Grade II*. Every visitor who walks down the High Street ends up here.

History

Burford grew at a crossing of the Windrush, and the bridge has been the town's way north for at least five hundred years. Burford's market charter dates from about 1090, and the town grew rich on the medieval wool trade.

The listing dates the bridge to the fifteenth century in origin. It was heavily remodelled in 1791 and restored again in the twentieth century, and at one of those times it was widened. It stands partly in Burford parish and partly in Fulbrook, and for years it was listed twice, once under each parish, until the duplicate entry was removed in 2019.

What to see

The bridge is best seen from the riverbank or the footpath rather than from the road. It is built of rubble stone with an ashlar parapet about 1.2m high. Look for:

• the four segmental arches, three of them with a chamfered inner order of stones;
• the pointed breakwaters, or cutwaters, on a slightly irregular plan, which split the current;
• the short stretches of causeway running off to the north and south;
• on the east side, the causeway ramping up to form the garden wall of the house called Mouseham.

From the bridge, look back up the High Street to the town, and along the river to the meadows that flood in winter.

Visiting

The bridge carries the A361 and is open at all times, so take care with the traffic when you cross on foot, especially with children or a pushchair. Early morning is the quietest time to stand on the bank and look at it.

Getting there

Park in the free Guildenford car park, a short walk downstream, where the public toilets are (20p, coins only). Buses stop at the Oxford Road layby above the town, a walk down the length of the High Street; the X52 runs between Oxford, Witney, Burford and Cheltenham.

On foot, Burford, Fulbrook and Widford, a 6-mile loop from Guildenford, crosses the bridge at the start on its way to Fulbrook, and the short Burford's lanes and fields town walk starts and ends at Guildenford car park.

Nearby

St John the Baptist, Burford's wool church, is a few minutes along Church Lane, and Burford Priory is up Priory Lane. On the High Street, the Tolsey Museum is free and opens in the afternoons from April to October, and the Bull, the Lamb Inn and the Bay Tree are the places to eat and stay. Downstream, St Oswald's at Widford is 2km along the valley.