NHER 46575 (Structure record) - Purfleet Bridge

July 1993. Listed, Grade II.
Listing Description excerpt:
"Road over river bridge (Purfleet). Mainly early 19th century, but fragments of 17th century brickwork remain to lower courses of east side. Medieval origins. Yellow, red and gault brick."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
S. Spooner (NLA) 8 September 2006. Amended by E. McDonald (HES), 18 December 2019.

(S2) states that the laying out of the second New Town in he 12th century made no provision for a bridge over the Purfleet to link what became King Street and Queen Street. A bridge was subsequently constructed on the King Street alignment but was only wide enough for foot traffic. It is mentioned in the survey of 1577, and is included on Bell's drawing of c.1675 and was substantially rebuilt in 1782, the evidence for which can still be seen on the western side. By the start of the 19th century the limited nature of this bridge was a major inhibitor to communication along the waterfront, and therefore became a high priority for the Paving Commissioners and the Corporation. In 1804 a scheme was devised which enabled widening of the bridge to enable it to carry four wheeled vehicles. This involved demolition of the Corporation's Town Dues Office which stood at the foot of the bridge on the north-east corner. In addition on the south side of the bridge because of the misalignment of the streets a building was pulled down. Five other properties in the vicinity were also pulled down for similar reasons. The improvement works proved extremely costly, exceeding their estimated cost by around 75%.
See (S2) for further details.
A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 13 March 2020.