A medieval stone bridge over the River Wear, featuring five arches and a picturesque riverside walk.
The Hopping Bridge is an easily overlooked feature at the Mistley end of the waterfront main road connection to Manningtree, known as The Walls (& opposite Mistley Towers & where the seawater Lido was located). It was designed as an inlet overflow for when the River Stour swelled at high tide & during storm surges. Because the height of the road has risen over the decades since previous flooding, the humpback Hopping Bridge now only noticeably rises on the inland pavement side. The Hopping Bridge itself is Victorian-era stone & brickwork, & quite decorative, but is now in a state of neglect & disrepair, despite its Grade2; Listed status. Some confusion has arisen over the name 'Hopping Bridge', it having been assumed that the name bears too much of a similarity with that of Witchfinder General Hopkins to be a coincidence. However, Hopping would seem to be an old rural word for a humpback bridge, so there's no actual connection meant to any local person. So, despite the fact that the site is almost within sight of The Mistley Thorn, where Hopkins based his witchfinding activities, there was no intended link to him. During the 1970's there were reports of a tall, shadowy spectre appearing in the vicinity of the Hopping Bridge, further reinforcing the belief that Matthew Hopkins was haunting this inlet of The Stour. The Hopping Bridge is in an area that always seems to be in tree shade, despite facing south, so is given to shadowy tricks of the light. Nowadays it serves to separate Mistley seafront from the swampy section inhabited by Little Egrets & the occasional Swans, between Mistley Place Park & the church.
A beautiful little spot with connection's to Mathew Hopkins.
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The Hopping Bridge is an easily overlooked feature at the Mistley end of the waterfront main road connection to Manningtree, known as The Walls (& opposite Mistley Towers & where the seawater Lido was located). It was designed as an inlet overflow for when the River Stour swelled at high tide & during storm surges. Because the height of the road has risen over the decades since previous flooding, the humpback Hopping Bridge now only noticeably rises on the inland pavement side. The Hopping Bridge itself is Victorian-era stone & brickwork, & quite decorative, but is now in a state of neglect & disrepair, despite its Grade2; Listed status. Some confusion has arisen over the name 'Hopping Bridge', it having been assumed that the name bears too much of a similarity with that of Witchfinder General Hopkins to be a coincidence. However, Hopping would seem to be an old rural word for a humpback bridge, so there's no actual connection meant to any local person. So, despite the fact that the site is almost within sight of The Mistley Thorn, where Hopkins based his witchfinding activities, there was no intended link to him. During the 1970's there were reports of a tall, shadowy spectre appearing in the vicinity of the Hopping Bridge, further reinforcing the belief that Matthew Hopkins was haunting this inlet of The Stour. The Hopping Bridge is in an area that always seems to be in tree shade, despite facing south, so is given to shadowy tricks of the light. Nowadays it serves to separate Mistley seafront from the swampy section inhabited by Little Egrets & the occasional Swans, between Mistley Place Park & the church.
A beautiful little spot with connection's to Mathew Hopkins.
No Description available at this time.
