Moulton Packhorse Bridge

Today we met up with my stepsister and her husband for lunch at the Packhorse in Moulton, just outside Newmarket.  A great find.

 
What was also a great find was why this pub was called the Packhorse! This bridge was a real surprise and we spent a while looking at it and admiring its shape and position across from the Village Green.
 
Built around the 14th or 15th centuries, it was a way of packhorse trains of up to 50 animals getting safely across the River Kennet on their way between Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds.  Unusually made of a mixture of brick, flint and stone, the bridge was in use right up to the 1800’s.
 
The bridge was expensive to maintain, so a charity was set up – “The Church and Bridges Estate”, with rents from an estate of 7 acres providing the funds for maintenance..