The Bridge across the River Frome.
In Snuff Mills there is a footbridge across the river. People who live on the Stapleton side of the river traditionally called it Fatman’s Bridge, allegedly because it replaced an earlier, much narrower one that could only be used by thin people.
The people who live on the Fishponds side call it Halfpenny Bridge, allegedly because people used to stand on the bridge and fill your bucket with water from the river for a halfpenny. As the banks adjacent to the bridge are shallow, making it easy to get water without help, and a halfpenny was a considerable amount in Victorian times this seems unlikely.
I am sure you can guess that I come from the Stapleton side.
Incidentally, why is the River Frome called the Danny River when it gets down beyond Eastville? I have never been able to find this out.
Carol Thorne
In Snuff Mills there is a footbridge across the river. People who live on the Stapleton side of the river traditionally called it Fatman’s Bridge, allegedly because it replaced an earlier, much narrower one that could only be used by thin people.
The people who live on the Fishponds side call it Halfpenny Bridge, allegedly because people used to stand on the bridge and fill your bucket with water from the river for a halfpenny. As the banks adjacent to the bridge are shallow, making it easy to get water without help, and a halfpenny was a considerable amount in Victorian times this seems unlikely.
I am sure you can guess that I come from the Stapleton side.
Incidentally, why is the River Frome called the Danny River when it gets down beyond Eastville? I have never been able to find this out.
Carol Thorne
RSS Feed