Bideford, Devon - River Torridge & Bridge - Salmon postcard

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  The River Torridge and Bride, Bideford, North Devon
• Publisher:  J Salmon (2-47-07-22)
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson's book. The Torridge local government district is named after the river.

The river rises close to the border with Cornwall (north of the source of the River Tamar [1]. It flows generally east, passing between East Putford and West Putford, and near Bradford it is joined by the River Waldon, then heads east past Black Torrington and Sheepwash. It is joined by the River Lew near Hatherleigh, and then by the River Okement near Meeth.

It then flows northwards, picking up the River Mere south of Beaford. After this it makes tight bends, and goes past Little Torrington and Great Torrington heading generally north-west. It is joined by the River Yeo at Pillmouth, and then becomes estuarine by Bideford. Between Appledore and Instow it joins the estuary of the River Taw and enters Bideford Bay.

The Tarka Trail walking and cycle route partly follows the course of the North Devon Railway, which, for a considerable distance, closely followed the line of the river. South of Bideford the railway crossed from one bank to the other, and the Trail provides a good vantage point for viewing the river.

Bideford /'b?d?f?rd/ is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district. The people of the town of Bideford are sometimes known as ""Bidefordians"".^[2]

The original Long Bridge spanning the River Torridge and connecting the East and West of the town was said to have been built out of timber in the year 1286. In 1474 the original structure was replaced by the masonry arch bridge seen today.^[22] The bridge was built around the timber so people could still use it while construction was taking place. It has 24 arches all of different sizes. The traditional explanation is that each arch was funded by a different local guild, although there are no records to confirm this. Another theory is that the piers of the arches of the bridge were built on naturally existing and therefore randomly situated large stones in the river.^[23] During the first decade of the 17th century, the bridge trustees were taken to court by the people of Bideford for feasting and seeing plays with the trust funds. The people won the court case although it is unclear whether the trustees were forced to resign after the scandal or what happened to them. In 1790 the bridge was the largest in Devon.^[24] In the 1820s there was talk of converting the bridge so that it could be raised and lowered to allow larger boats and ships to pass under it. A former New Year's Eve tradition was to try to run across the Long Bridge during the time taken for the bells of St. Mary's parish church to chime midnight. In 1886 a Ship called 'Edward Birkbeck' launched from a Bideford shipyard hit the bridge, but only caused small damage by knocking some of the stones out. In 1925 another incident took place on the bridge, during the widening of the bridge a lorry came off the side of the bridge and crashed into the River Torridge, it is believed that both the people in the lorry survived.^[25] During World War Two the 10th arch of the bridge was being repaired, the police asked for ladders and scaffolding to be removed from the bridge to prevent potential invaders climbing up and capturing the bridge, during the war the home guard patrolled the bridge.^[26] The Bideford Bridge Trust held responsibility for the long bridge right up until the year 1968 when one of the arches of the bridge collapsed. The Department of Transport then took on the bridge. During the rebuilding of that part of the bridge a crane toppled over on the bridge and a man was killed. An inspection by Devon County Council in July 2007 revealed problems with the bridge's concrete and structure, in September 2008, work began on putting in the cathodic protection system which restored the bridge for another 60 years.^[22] A sight which many holiday makers and locals enjoy is seeing the Starlings at dusk, as they roost underneath the bridge.

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=devon

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted