The Bewdley Crossings
by
H W Gwilliam
Settlements grew up on both sides of the Severn at Bewdley, and there must have been a ferry plying across
from Wribbenhall to Bewdley from the earliest times. Mrs. Parker of Tickenhill, who had made a study of the
old roads and crossings of the Severn here, wrote of the ford where the bridge was later built in 1447. The road
came down Wyre Hill, curving to avoid swampy ground, and crossed the river at the shelf of rock above the ford
to Whispering Street. This crossing and that of White Hill Road from the Blackstone river crossing, were the
two oldest in the district. The first bridge at Bewdley was built in 1447, the Bishop of Worcester having granted
Indulgences of 40 days to all who contributed to it. Twelve years later, the town was taken by Lancastrian
forces who destroyed the bridge, the stones going to Worcester for the repair of the gates and the bridge there.
In 1460 there is a mention of a Lancastrian warder in charge of the ferry at Bewdley.
A mile downstream, the crossing at Blackstone was dominated by huge cliffs of sandstone which, like those at
Redstone, four miles downstream, were the abode of hermits. They gave shelter when the crossing was
dangerous but exacted a toll for their hospitality.
Copyright ©
H W Gwilliam
1982
Other pages in WHE
Severn Ferries and Fords in Worcestershire
Worcestershire History Encyclopaedia