EXETER: NORTH STREET BRIDGE 1835 HEW 981 SX 917 927 N50o 43’ 26.8” W3o 32’ 8.1”
Commissioned by the Exeter Turnpike Trust I 1834, this cast iron bridge has six 40 foot arched spans resting on cast iron columns and carries North Street down to the site of the town’s North Gate and across Longbrook from St. David’s Hill at the beginning of the Barnstaple Road. Formerly, this was a very steep road up to the center of town. The iron was fabricated by Blaine Ironworks at Newport and arrived by boat at Exeter Basin. In 1984 a reinforced concrete deck was laid over the iron plates. The masonry approaches are in the distinctive Exeter red sandstone.
It is easy to see both these Exeter bridges in one visit. Park in the Mary Arches public garage and walk downhill on Upper North Street one block to the North Street Bridge. To see it from below, walk down the steps. The Cathedral is up hill on North Street one block to High Street, turn left and about 100 feet, you will glimpse the Cathedral through a pedestrian passage which is across High Street from the entrance to the modern shopping mall. The footbridge is to the left of the façade of the Cathedral, along the street with the medieval buildings.
