Sotonopedia

Mansbridge
A district name in the north-east area of the modern city, i.e. within the traditional vil of South Stoneham. The name derives from the traditional river crossing and appears in the South Stoneham land charter of 1045 as "Mannaes brige”. It has been suggested that the first element in the name relates to the neighbouring territory (to the east) of the Meon-wara. Mansbridge gave its name to a hundred and to two medieval manors: Mansbridge/ Swaythling lying north of the River Itchen, and Mansbridge/Townhill south of the river. The name 'Mainsbridge' appears to be identical with Mansbridge.

Mansbridge Bridge
The bridge at Mansbridge is the oldest, smallest and most northerly of the bridges connecting the east and west parts of the city. There has been a bridge here for many centuries, and until Northam Bridge was built in 1799 it was the only route for wheeled traffic over the River Itchen. The earliest mention of a bridge here was in a charter of 932. The present bridge, however, was built in the late 18th or early 19th century by John Doswell or his son John Doswell Doswell. It is a single-arched bridge of tooled stone. It was replaced by a new road bridge for vehicular traffic in 1976, after which the old bridge was repaired.

Mansbridge Bridge

The old bridge photographed c.2000

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