A Bridge to Cross

Regardless of weather, man or beast – the Melksham town bridge over the Avon remains in one form or another as an important access route into town.

Severe weather in 1809 caused the wooden Avon bridge to be swept away by a flood and it was replaced with the stone structure that more or less exists today. James Spragg (1784 to 1872) was a builder in Melksham who lived at Coburg Place on Spa Road. 

One of his projects was the rebuilding of the town bridge over the Avon. In completing the project, it was necessary to take down three houses. Amongst the parts of the old bridge being sold off in 1811 was the centring of the arches consisting of 20 ribs with planks and wedges. The building materials from the three demolished homes were also auctioned.

But the replaced bridge was not the original. The first documented reference to a bridge in this location is when William Honeston bequeathed a sum towards its maintenance; this was in 1415.  Again, in 1637, the bridge is reported to be in a bad state and the Quarter Sessions ordered the townspeople to repair it under penalty of a £40 fine.

The life stories of the bridge were not limited to weather, natural erosion and ageing, however.

Friends of 19-year-old Ephraim Knee desperately tried to find his body after they learnt the Kings Arms servant threw himself off the Avon bridge Wednesday evening, 29 September, 1841. They fired a gun along the bank to ‘burst the caul’ in order to raise the corpse to the surface.

They continued their efforts a few days later by banging a drum as they walked up and down the riverbanks. Their reasoning was that when the sound stopped, they would be opposite the body. Ephraim’s body was found near the bridge 11 days after he jumped in.

Livestock off the Melksham train heading to the Melksham market would be herded across the town bridge. In 1850, a bull was being led across by a rope attached to a ring through its nose. The bull became furious and ran at his owner, pining the man between its two horns against the side of the bridge. The whole of the parapet was knocked down for several feet, which left the man dangling in the air over the river, grasping firmly to the rope that still held the bull. He jumped into the river and landed on a muddy part and only sustained minor injuries.

In 1929, the bridge was widened to add a second footpath. A year later, a heavy lorry crashed into the stone parapet; its front wheels and the driver’s cabin projected over the river. Another major repair of the bridge in 2015 required scaffolding when sections were cut out to repair decayed concrete and to add reinforcing steel.

There was continuing concern that lorries would mount the pavement and cause the footway to collapse. In 2020, a strengthening beam and barrier were added. This work narrowed the walkways but helped to protect the original structure.