MEM25384 - Post-medieval bridge and ford site at Parracombe (Monument)

A post-medieval bridge crossed a ford site on the River Heddon in central Parracombe. It was recorded in around 1775 and widened in 1864, but was destroyed in the 1952 Lynmouth flood disaster and subsequently rebuilt.

An inscribed stone was built into the foundation of the bridge at Parracombe village in about 1775 (see MDE1074). [1] A probably early medieval memorial stone possibly still exists in an inaccessible position in the foundations of the bridge in Parracombe Village. [2] The stone is probably still within the bridge, which was widened in 1864. [3] Parracombe Bridge was washed away in the Lynmouth Flood Disaster of 1952. Subsequently the river bed was widened and the bridge rebuilt (local information). [4] The current road bridge is an undistinguished modern beam bridge and replaced an earlier bridge in this position that was washed away in the Lynmouth Flood Disaster of 1952. [5] A bridge over the River Haddoe is shown on the 2022 MasterMap data at SS 6676 4480. [6] The earlier bridge is shown here on the 25 inch 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps. [7,8] A smaller bridge is also shown here on the Tithe Map for Parracombe. The site also appears to incorporate a ford. [9]