Building Bridges

 

The Mill Stream Bridges

The mill stream which runs through central Bentley has two crossing points, one on High Street and one on Cooke Street. Integrated into the road network, some may not even be aware there are bridges at these points at all. In fact there have been bridges in both locations for a very long time, especially at Cooke Street.

In this article we look at the two bridges in more detail, charting their history and looking at their important role in traffic movement around Bentley.

Contents

• The Mill Stream
• A Tale of Two Bridges
• The Old Stone Bridge
• The New Stone Bridge
• Lasting Bridges

The Mill Stream

There has been a mill stream in Bentley for many hundreds of years. The first corn mill in Bentley, which was on Mill Gate, can be traced  back to at least 1332. It sat alongside a mill pond which stretched out to form a stream or dike, sometimes called a 'Quoit' on old maps. 

The seventeenth century rebuilt Bentley Mill

Later on, Finkle Street and Askern Road (which used to be named Selby Road) were built alongside the mill stream. This is shown on an illustration of the Enclosure map of 1827 below. 

The mill stream, shown in blue in 1827.

Further west the stream ran adjacent to Yew Tree Farm at Rostholme, which is now Bentley Health Centre. Beyond Yew Tree Farm the mill stream continued, as it does today, to join a network of dikes and drains north west of Bentley.

Yew Tree Farm alongside the mill stream

As can be seen from the enclosure map, there was originally only one crossing point over the mill stream, this was at the end of Cooke Street at the junction with the Selby road. The route through Bentley from south to north took a left turn at what is now Chapel Street, then a right on to Cooke Street before joining the Selby road at the mill stream, as illustrated in the map below.

The original main route through Bentley shown in red

Sometime between 1827 and 1850 an extension to High Street (which was known as Doncaster Road) was built. This required a second bridge to be built at the junction with Finkle Street, Arksey Lane and the Selby road (Askern Road). The new road became the main thoroughfare through Bentley, providing a more direct route to villages and towns further north. 

1893 map showing both bridges over the mill stream

 A Tale of Two Bridges

The history of Bentley's two bridges differ quite dramatically from each other, but both have undergone changes over the years to enable them to endure modern day traffic at volumes unimaginable when the mill stream got its first permanent crossing point.

The Old Stone Bridge

It is unclear when Bentley's first stone bridge was built. One can imagine a wooden bridge being the first crossing point for early settlers in the area, but as with most things, something stronger and longer lasting must have been required as the village grew. This illustration (below) is said to be Bentley bridge in circa 1740 however, the artist's addition of rolling hills is either artistic licence, or it isn't 'our' Bentley at all (the jury is still out).

'Bentley Bridge', 1740

 

It isn't until we get to the 1820's that we can be sure what the bridge looked like. Around the year 1822 a new stone bridge was built to replace whatever had stood there before. Very few photos survive today of the 19th century bridge, however, this one (below) from 1910 came from a collection of photos taken by Ernest Goodridge*. It shows a daring Bert Marsh** navigating the mill stream in his canoe and disappearing under the Cooke Street stone bridge. 

Bert Marsh in his canoe under the old stone bridge in 1910

In late 1921 the bridge supports failed following water erosion and the bridge became unusable. The road was closed to traffic for some months while negotiations were undertaken to agree on the cost of repairs.

In the end a contract worth almost £2,000 was given to the Yorkshire Hennibique Co. who had built the concrete headgear at Bentley Colliery.

A new concrete bridge was erected, and a portion of road was widened to improve this previously dangerous junction.

The opening ceremony took place on the 11th of March 1922. The first motor vehicle to pass over the new bridge contained the Chairman of the Bentley Urban District Council, Geo. Ringrose and the director of the contracting firm, D. Jones.

As the car approached the final yard of road the car broke through a white tape. Mr Ringrose alighted, then returned to the centre of the bridge declaring it open.

Following the ceremony, two 10-ton steam rollers were driven onto the centre of the bridge. Members of the Council and others then went below the bridge to see the effect of the weight on the structure.

Recording instruments both at the ends and the centre of the structure did not show the slightest sign of 'give'. The steam engines above were driven backwards and forwards but still the bridge held firm and showed no signs of cracking or breaking.

That concrete bridge is now a century old and stands testament to the foresight of the Urban Council and the ability of the Surveyor, P.G. Woodhall.

Cooke Street bridge in 1995 with the old Methodist chapel in the background

 

*Ernest Goodridge was a Bentley soldier in WW1. For his story go to When Bentley Stars Shine.

**Bert Marsh was a member of the Marsh family of Finkle Street corn mill, he is mentioned in the article When Bentley Stars Shine. For more about the Marsh family go to William Marsh, Son of a Miller, Friend of a President.

The New Stone Bridge

Ironically the new stone bridge at the end of High Street is now the older of the two Bentley bridges following the replacement of the Cooke Street bridge in 1922. 

As mentioned earlier, the extension to High Street was added prior to 1850, so the stone bridge dates from about then. Despite its age it doesn't appear to have suffered the same dramas as its neighbour. The photo below was taken from the Finkle Street side of the bridge in 1910.

The High Street bridge in 1910

There will undoubtedly have been repairs and maintenance carried out on the bridge over the years, but apart from the addition of some metal railings on the west wall, the bridge looks pretty much the same today. The same can't be said of the mill stream though, which is much narrower and more overgrown now.

High Street bridge in more recent times

  

Lasting Bridges

Just as the mill stream in Bentley will always flow through the village, the bridges which cross it will always be there too. Built to last these two bridges should endure for many decades to come, so next time you pass through Bentley, take time to notice the bridges and appreciate what an important role they have had in the long history of the village.

Alison Vainlo 2022