Slater's Bridge
History and construction
The bridge dates back to the 17th century, and became a listed building in 1967. Built of slate, it consists of a 15-foot (4.6 m) segmental arch and a flatter span built of slabs, and incorporates a natural boulder in midstream. The bridge is thought to have been created by miners working in the nearby Tilberthwaite Fells.
Already in the 19th century, Alexander Craig Gibson called it "an exquisite and unique specimen of a style of bridge all but extinct"; a century later, Alfred Wainwright called it "the most picturesque footbridge in Lakeland, a slender arch constructed of slate from the quarries and built to give the quarrymen a shorter access from their homes".
Literary associations
The bridge was acclaimed in a 20th-century poem as "...this/exercise in hanging circularity, toppling stress./The rough slate wedges carry their own likeness/on the belly of each, with the grass springing sidewise/at the joins. The bare arch links two valley sides/as though by a handclasp across the sky's reflection".
See also
References
- ^ Historic England. "Slaters Bridge (Grade II*) (1245295)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ Conduit, Brian (1991). Lake District Walks. Jarrold/OS. p. 62. ISBN 0711704635.
- ^ Gibson, Alexander Craig (1849). The Old Man; Or Ravings and Ramblings Round Conistone. London: Whittaker & Co. p. 30. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via Project Gutenberg.
- ^ Wainwright, Alfred (1992). Wainwright in the Valleys of Lakeland. London: Michael Joseph. p. 185. ISBN 0718134818.
- ^ Quoted in N Nichlson, The Lake District (Penguin 978) p. 58-9
External links