Whilst much of Dartmoor was still relying on Clapper Bridges to cross the streams and rivers, on the eastern fringes the River Dart was spanned by a substantial arch bridge as early as 1413, when Holne Bridge was built. Previously part of the A384 route across Dartmoor, the road was downgraded to be the B3357 and then curtailed at Dartmeet Bridge further west, so the road across the bridge is now unclassified, but still busy.
The central arch
The bridge itself consists of three main arches across the river, although only the central one spans the channel when the river is low. There is also an additional, much smaller and presumed later flood arch on the south bank. The central arch is the largest of all, but decoratively similar to its immediate neighbours, with a slightly recessed arch ring rising from a string course around the pier and some moulded corbels at the base of the arch. The decoration on the western, upstream side is slightly different as some widening works were carried out in the 19th Century.
Between the arches, triangular cutwaters rise into pedestrian refuges, which look newer than the main structure, on either side of the narrow roadway, and there are a couple of small corbelled sections between the parapets and refuges. The parapets are remarkably low, just 3 or 4 courses of rubble stone below the coping stones.
