Old Bridge, Huntingdon
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The Old Bridge in Huntingdon (now part of Cambridgeshire, England) is a well-preserved medieval stone bridge over the River Great Ouse, connecting Huntingdon to Godmanchester. The town has long been an important bridgehead, with Ermine Street (connecting London to Lincoln and York), as well as various east-west trade routes, crossing the Great Ouse here. Edward the Elder built a wooden bridge around the 10th century, and also ordered the nearby Huntingdon Castle to be rebuilt. Until the 1107 construction of the first bridge in St Ives, it is believed that there was no bridge further downstream, and foreign trade would navigate the river as far upstream as Huntingdon.
The current bridge was constructed around 1332. It was intended for both pedestrian and horse-drawn transport (the bridge has recesses for people to stand to let the heavier traffic pass), but now serves exclusively for light vehicular traffic. Pedestrians use a parallel footbridge just metres upstream, and heavy goods vehicles must use the modern bridge which forms part of the A14 bypass. However, until that was built in 1975, the narrow medieval bridge stood alone, and had to be used by both lorries travelling the Great North Road and footgoing shoppers, to the dissatisfaction of all parties.
The bridge is now Grade I listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
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