Packhorse bridge, Lacock

The packhorse bridge crosses the Bide Brook at the bottom of Lacock, just below St Cyriac's Church, beside the lane called Nethercote Hill. It is a small humpbacked bridge of two arches, built in the eighteenth century, and it is listed Grade II.

History

The brook it crosses may have given the village its name. Wiltshire Council's community history says the Saxons settled around the Bide Brook, a small stream that flows east into the Avon, and that the name Lacock could come from lacuc, a small stream. It also records the old way from the market place to the London to Bath road near Reybridge as running over the packhorse bridge, or through the ford beside it.

Historic England's listing dates the bridge to the eighteenth century and adds one piece of its story: on the tithe map, the parish map of the nineteenth century drawn up to fix tithe payments, it is marked as Dummer's Bridge. Who Dummer was is not recorded in the listing. Bridges of this kind were built narrow, wide enough for a walker or a laden horse; the name packhorse bridge describes the type rather than a recorded use. It was listed in 1987.

What to see

Stand on the bank to see the shape. The bridge is built of rubble stone with an ashlar parapet, and rises in a hump over two small arches, both lined with dressed stone. A band of stone projects just below the parapet, the only decoration.

Visiting

The bridge carries a footway beside the lane, so it is open at any time and free. It is humped, with a short slope at each end.

Getting there

The bridge is at the foot of Nethercote Hill, below Church Street in Lacock. Park in the National Trust car park on Hither Way (SN15 2LG), south of the village, which is free to members, then walk up the High Street and along Church Street past the church; it takes about ten minutes. Chippenham, about four and a half miles away by road, has the nearest station.

Nearby

St Cyriac's Church is a few steps up the hill, and the tithe barn and lock-up are round the corner on East Street. North of the village, the lane leads on to Rey Bridge over the Avon at Reybridge, and to the east the road crosses the river on Lacock Bridge. For lunch, The George Inn and The Red Lion are both a few minutes away, and Lacock Abbey is across the village.