Moulton Packhorse Bridge
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Gazeley Road, Moulton, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 8SR
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Moulton is a village in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk in England.
The village pre-dates the Domesday book of 1086 and is older than the now larger town of Newmarket. It is famous for its fifteenth century packhorse bridge, which spans the Kennett River.
The four-arched bridge is managed by English Heritage and is on the old Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds packhorse route (there was probably another from Newmarket to Clare).
The bridge is constructed of flint and stone. Its low parapet walls enabled the packs to swing clear and avoided the need for a wider, more expensive structure. However, it was probably not used only by packhorses for it is wide enough to allow the passage of small carts. It can still be used to cross the River Kennett, which, although occasionally dry, is still home for the occasional kingfisher. There is a flint footbridge of similar design close by.
By road: Off A14, via B1085, Moulton Road.
Addison, Sir William, The Old Roads of England, Harper Collins, ISBN 0 7134 1714 5 (1980)
Albert, W., The Turnpike Road System in England 1663- 1840, Cambridge University Press, ISBN O 5210 3391 8 (1972)
Challis, Chris, Packhorse Bridge, Aylestone, T. Savage, ASIN: B0007B7S02 7S02 (1986)
Harrison, David, The Bridges of Medieval England: Transport and Society 400-1800, Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0199226857 (2007)
Hartwell, Michael, Illustrated Guide to the Packhorse Bridges of the Lake District, Ernest Press, ISBN-10: 0948153318 (1994)
Hinchcliffe, Ernest, Guide to the Packhorse Bridges of England, Cicerone Press, ISBN-10: 1852841435 (1994)
Lewis, Carenza, Village, Hamlet and Field: Changing Medieval Settlements in Central England, Windgather Press, ISBN-10: 0953863034 (2001)
Williamson, Tom, Shaping Medieval Landscapes: Settlement, Society, Environment, Windgather Press, ISBN-10: 0954557581 (2004)
English Heritage - Moulton Packhorse Bridge
Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts