View of he Barbican toll gate, and toll bridge, in Sandwich, England. The Crispin inn, is on the left.
Probably of late C14 origin. Consists of 2 round towers, which have a base of ashlar. Above this the ground floor is chequered work of stone and flints with loop windows. Entry is via a semi-circular timber barrel roof between the towers and tiled over. The 1st floor has been modernised; the south east tower has been fronted with weather- boarding, the north west tower with rough plaster almost like roughcast. Conical tiled roofs. On the town side of the towers are 2 modern or modernised buildings of rubble and brick, and on the first floor weather-boarding joined by a hipped tiled roof over the whole. A small 2-storeyed modern house has been built on to north side of the north west tower and is now occupied by the toll collector. The Barbican was built in 1539, together with the castle's at Deal, Snowdon and Walmer as part of King Henry VIII's chain of defences to guard against the threat of French invasion. Beneath the arch is a list of old toll charges for the bridge with a plaque recording their abolition in 1977. Another plaque recalls the presence of 5,000 Jews in 1939 who fled Nazi persecution and were housed in the First World War Camp in Richborough. The Toll Bridge in Sandwich is a historic swing bridge that is the most downstream crossing of the River Stour. It was part of the A256 until the Sandwich Bypass opened. Today, the road is unclassified. There has been a tolled crossing here since the Middle Ages. The current bridge was tolled until 1977.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: The Quay, Sandwich, Kent,
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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