(A clapper bridge is a structure designed to carry a trackway across a river by means of one or more
large, flat stone slabs, either resting directly on the river banks or supported on dry-stone piers. They are
recognised in the field as monuments of dry-stone construction of simple form and include everything
from a slab thrown across a stream to the "classic" examples with slabs and piers of drystone
construction. Many examples still survive and are in use today, others survive as ruined structures and
are recognised by piers projecting from the river bed, sometimes with a few slabs still in place. They
may be found through field survey and using documentary sources.
If clapper bridges are still standing they are not easily confused with other classes of monument. If,
however, only the piers remain they may be confused with stepping stones; indeed, many clapper
bridges have been converted from stepping stones by placing horizontal slabs over the stones.
Specifically excluded from this definition are other forms of bridges (single-span bridges and multi-
span bridges); these are treated as separate classes of monument. Causeways, which are treated as a
component of roads, are also excluded
Clapper bridges are thought to have been constructed and used from the late medieval period, around
1400, to the 19th century, as a means of taking a route across a river, stream or leet. They were used by
foot passengers and pack-horse traffic (and possibly by horse-hauled sledges) and are frequently located
on the line of a pack-horse track.)
