Monument record SBT 034 - Bridge at Sibton Abbey, Sibton (PMed)

An 18th century bridge and the remains of its medieval predecessor were recorded at Sibton Abbey, Sibton. The bridge stands within private grounds and provides access across the River Yox to the site of the ruined Cistercian abbey. The abbey ruins are Grade-II listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument but the bridge itself stands outside the designated monument area. The wing of the bridge on the upstream south bank has recently collapsed, exposing the soil core of the bridge abutment, and seriously endangering the bridge's future. The current bridge was built in 1770 by John Freston Scrivener Esq. to replace that which was built as part of Sibton Abbey. The bridge would have been visible from the house which the Scrivener family had had built on the site of the abbey during the first half of the 17th century. Hodskinson's map of Suffolk (1783) shows the river swollen to a wider body of water and the design of the new bridge would have been constructed to contribute to this enhanced vista. The bricks within the earlier bridge suggest that it is medieval, and was constructed probably during the 12th or 13th century, a time when the clausteral buildings were also being remodelled using a similar brick; however the lack of any evidence of a defining architectural style makes the bridge remnant impossible to date with absolute confidence. The medieval bridge abutment has been described, erroneously, as part of a monastic hospital on the first edition OS (HER no. SBT 001) (S1).