Works to repair an historic bridge which has stood on the Norfolk Broads for six centuries is finally being carried out this week. 

Potter Heigham Bridge has been shut to traffic since December last year, after a hole the size of a Wellington boot appeared.

Now, work to fix the surface of the medieval structure is finally being carried out. 

Paul Rice, a flood warden and chairman of the Broads Society, said Norfolk County Council's Highways team started work on Monday.

Eastern Daily Press: Paul Rice, founder of Broads Watch and senior flood warden and emergency coordinator with North Norfolk Council. (Image: James Weeds)Paul Rice, founder of Broads Watch and senior flood warden and emergency coordinator with North Norfolk Council. (Image: James Weeds) (Image: James Weeds)

They are expected to continue until Thursday, with Friday planned as a contingency day.

The bridge will shut to pedestrians from around 3pm until late evening each day. 

It is expected to be shut again on Monday, April 24, until late afternoon on Wednesday, April 26. 

Following the work, the structure - which has been open to pedestrians but closed to vehicles - is expected to reopen to traffic, with a 7.5-tonne weight limit in place.

The limit applies to all vehicles including buses except emergency services.

 

 

A NORFOLK LANDMARK

The bridge, along with St Benet's Abbey, is one of the most recognisable landmarks on the Norfolk Broads and adorns countless postcards.

It crosses the River Thurne, which divides the parishes of Potter Heigham and Repps with Bastwick.

Each summer it is a popular spot to watch the Three Rivers Race, as sailors 'shoot' the bridge - lowering their sails and masts to pass below without stopping.

The structure is also said to be haunted by a coach which crashed or caught alight as it passed across one night in 1742, taking local noblewoman Lady Evelyn to her death on her wedding night.

According to local legend, the clatter of a carriage thundering past can be heard at midnight each May 31.