The Current Plaque reads: There has been a Water Mill at Wetherby since before 1221 where corn and rape were ground. Later is was a Saw Mill until it burnt down in 1944. The Salmon Steps opposite were built in 1871 at a cost of £30. The remains of earlier bridges across the river can be seen below the arches
However, a couple of errors will be corrected once the funds are available to replace it.
It should read:
There have been Water Mills at Wetherby since before 1221 where corn and rape had been ground and wool cloth ‘fulled’. Milling ceased by 1935 and the building was being used to manufacture firelighters when it burnt down in 1944. The three stages of the bridge’s development can be clearly seen with the intact central bridge of 1233 and the two widenings of 1773 and 1825 on either side.
The salmon steps opposite were originally built in 1871 at a cost of £30.
The old medieval Wetherby Bridge had four arches and these were eventually extended to six. Not only was the bridge damaged by severe floods but thousands of Scottish cattle going south and coal carts going north in the late 1700’s added to the destruction. It is hard to believe that until the first by-pass of 1959 was built this bridge was part of the A1 carrying all the traffic on the Great North Road.
Click on any of the plaques below to see more detail.
