Bridges On The Wear

PONDERLANE FOOTBRIDGE

"This (St John's Chapel) is another village whose prosperity was once based fairly in the mining and quarrying industry. It is said to be the only village in Co. Durham which has a town hall."

Discovering County Durham. Ron and Marlene Freetly. 1994.

Ponderlane Footbridge is just north of St John's Chapel on an ancient drover's lane where a ford once allowed the river to be crossed. The original wooden footbridge dated from early Victorian times and was damaged in the 1881 floods. The present structure is steel beamed on concrete abutments with a single pier. At both ends is a gate. The name derives from the word pinfold, an animal enclosure.

The land to the north rises stepply towards moorland and there are several disused quarries nearby.


 Ponderlane Footbridge Facts


Constructed - not known
Type - beam, wood, single concrete pier.
Position: St John's Chapel, County Durham.
Grid Reference - NY 886 383
 Ponderlane Footbridge



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