Monument record MDR10099 - Schoolhouse Bridge, School Lane, Ashbourne

Schoolhouse Bridge. 18th century. (1) There is a reference to 'the Schoole Bridge' in 1637, no doubt named from the old Grammar School. (2) A bridge is mentioned on or near the site of the Schoolhouse Bridge in 1290 in relation to the vicarage. A map of Ashbourne dated 1547 depicts the bridge, accessed both by a lane leading down from Church Street and by a lane or track from the churchyard. There is a further reference in the Derbyshire Sessions in 1698 when it was decided that "a new foot-bridge of timber be built. Mr William James to have to his own use stone already laid down and the materials of the old bridge". The exact site or sites of the early bridges in relation to the present bridge is not known. (3-5)