Description and History of Site:-
Over River Rye. Segmental arches and triangular cutwaters. Stone badly deteriorated. Neat vertical tooling. Long square section mould stones, separate pieces from voussoirs. This bridge was built in the mid 18th century to replace the previous mediaeval bridge which was carried away by a flood in 1754. Given the importance of the bridge, or more particularly the road it carried, it is thought that the replacement would have been constructed as quickly as possible.

Evidence for the previous bridge came to light in 1949 when natural scouring of the river bed began to reveal dressed masonry blocks. Materials continued to be recovered between 1949 and 1955, including evidence of timber foundations. An analysis of the stonework was published in the YAJ in 1966, including an elevation of the mediaeval bridge in relation to that which replaced it.

Further Reading and References:-
YAHS - Hatcher Card Index. Research funded by the Yorkshire Arts Association 1972.
Hatcher, J. The industrial architecture of Yorkshire. Phillimore, 1985.

Weatherill, J., The Eighteenth Century Rievaulx Bridge and its Mediaeval Predecessor, YAJ, V41, 1963.
http://archive.org/stream/YAJ0411966#page/70

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Key Words :- road bridge river

Viewing the Site :- Can be viewed from public highway

Address :- Rievaulx, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, YO62 5LE
Grid Ref :- SE 57410 84286
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.251043 , Long -1.120380
Local Authority :- Ryedale District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - North Riding
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No - 1175672,
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- C18 -
Record Date :- 5 June 2015

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