Clopton Bridge is located in Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, the birthplace of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

. It is a masonry arch bridge

Arch bridge

An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...

 with 14 pointed spans over the River Avon

River Avon, Warwickshire

The River Avon or Avon is a river in or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in the Midlands of England...

, crossing at the place where the river was forded in Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 times, and which gave the town its name. The bridge carries the A3400 road

A3400 road

The A3400 is a road in the Midlands of England, running from Hockley Heath to a junction with the A44 near Chipping Norton. At its northern end it joins up with the A34, of which it was originally one section. At its southern end it joins the A44, passing through Woodstock and joining the A34 at...

 over the river.

The bridge was built in 1480, financed by Hugh Clopton

Hugh Clopton

Hugh Clopton was a Lord Mayor of the City of London.He was born at Clopton House, just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.He was appointed a Sheriff of London in 1487 and elected Lord Mayor of London for 1491....

 of Clopton House

Clopton House

Clopton House is a 17th-century country mansion near Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, now converted into residential apartments. It is a Grade II* listed building....

, who later became Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...

. It replaced a timber bridge which may have dated back to 1318. Two arches were rebuilt in 1524. The bridge was again repaired in 1588 following flooding, and in 1642 after an arch had been destroyed to block the army of Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

. In 1696, money was raised to heighten the parapet

Parapet

A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...

s, which were as low as four inches in places. The bridge was widened on the north side (upstream) in 1811, and a ten-sided toll-house tower added in 1814. A cast iron

Cast iron

Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...

 footbridge

Footbridge

A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...

 was added to the north side in 1827.

John Leland described the bridge as:

a great and sumptuous Bridge upon Avon at the East Ende of the Towne, which hath 14 great Arches of Stone and long Causey made of Stone, low walled on each side, at the West Ende of the Bridge.

The bridge is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Richard Roberts VI is the incumbent bridge master and resides in the toll house attached to the bridge.