The Crossing at Upton-on-Severn

by H W Gwilliam

The crossing at Upton is on an ancient and very important route from the Welsh border to the Avon Valley, by way of the Hollybush Pass at the south end of the Malvern Hills. It was a route long used, back in medieval times,by drovers of Welsh cattle and sheep to English markets. The medieval ferry was replaced by Tudor times, for Leland, in his travels in 1539, reported a wooden bridge at Upton and, soon after his visit, a stone bridge was built. It was the scene of one of the most brilliant ‘commando’ type raids a few days before the Battle of Worcester in 1651, part of Cromwell’s plan to attack from both sides of the Severn.

The bridge had a number of arches blown up and was never effectively repaired and, in 1852, it broke down during the great flood of that year. A swing bridge was then erected but proved unsatisfactory owing to great frictional resistance. The present bridge, built in 1940. was built a few yards upstream. with sides so high that no view of the river is possible when crossing. The old bridge at Upton created a shoal just below the bridge which, in the days of sailing craft (1 847). was by far the worst in the Severn. This was the result of contraction by the arches, producing first a pooi, and then a shoal of only three feet draft. An Admiralty report of 1849 records: ‘I have frequently seen 200 to 300 vessels aground at one time at Upton'.

Copyright © H W Gwilliam 1982



Other pages in WHE

Severn Ferries and Fords in Worcestershire Worcestershire History Encyclopaedia