Cartouche of Burton Bridge drawn by William Wyatt, 1760

SRO D(W)1734/3/3/213
©Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service

In 1686, Robert Plot described Burton Bridge in his ‘Natural History of Staffordshire’ as “the most notorious (noteworthy) piece of work of a civil public building in this country (Staffordshire) or anywhere perhaps in England”.

There was a bridge over the River Trent at Burton-upon-Trent by the early 12th century. It appears that, in the Middle Ages, the responsibility for the upkeep of the bridge was assumed by the monks of Burton Abbey. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the manor of Burton was purchased by the Paget family and bridge maintenance fell to them as lords of the manor. This remained the case until 1864. The road over the bridge was turnpiked in 1753, just before this illustration was drawn. The building of a new bridge in 1864, paid for by the Marquess of Anglesey and the Midland and other railway companies, finally led to dismantling of the mediaeval bridge. The responsibility for maintaining the new bridge passed to the county borough of Burton upon Trent.