LOOE, Cornwall, UK - April 28, 2022

Looe Bridge was constructed in the 1850s to replace a dangerous 15th-century structure, the bridge carries the A387 road and is a Grade II listed building. An early wooden bridge was built across the river at Looe in c. 1400. This structure burned down in 1405. The first stone bridge across the river in the town was built following a grant of 22 October 1411; construction took 25 years and was completed in 1436. The arches varied in width from 9–22 ft (2.7–6.7 m); the larger spans allowed passage of timber rafts. The width of the bridge was 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) at its narrowest and 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) at its widest. On the centre of the bridge was a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne. It is possible that the chapel was demolished at the time of the Reformation, although some traces were reported to have still existed when the bridge was demolished. In 1689 the bridge was "in general decay", and the repairs were seen to by the county authority. Granite plaques were installed at each end of the bridge, of which the west plaque still exists. A notice placed in The London Gazette in 1847 stated of an intent to apply to parliament to improve and maintain Looe Harbour, and to "take down the bridge across the said harbour, and to build a new bridge instead thereof, with proper approaches and works connected therewith, at or near the site of the present bridge". The following year, the East and West Looe Harbour and Bridge Act was passed, which stated that "the present bridge across the harbour is dilapidated and ill built". A grant for constructing a new bridge was made in 1852. Built approximately 100 yd (91 m) upstream of the site of the older bridge, which had been removed in 1853, the foundation stone was laid on 16 June 1854 and the new bridge opened on 4 September 1855. Designed by William Pease of slatestone with granite dressings, the bridge cost £2,984 (equivalent to £286,346 in 2020) to construct. It has nine "misshapen" arches,] of which seven span the river, one is a dry arch on the East Looe side, and one at the West Looe side forms a pedestrian passage. The roadway had an original uniform width of 18 ft 2 in (5.54 m), but underwent a programme of widening in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The road carried by the bridge forms part of the A387 between Polbathic and Polperro. In 1993, the bridge and its six cast iron lamp standards were given Grade II listed status.