Dunster Gallox Bridge

This ancient stone bridge - originally 'gallows bridge'- once carried packhorses bringing fleeces to Dunster market.

The medieval wool trade

In the Middle Ages wool was England’s chief export, and the source of much of the country’s wealth. axes on wool exports paid for Edward I’s conquest of Wales and his near conquest of Scotland.

At this time Dunster flourished as a market and port for wool, fleeces being brought down from the moor to be sold there. Many of them were carried by packhorse across the River Avill via Gallox Bridge, originally the main route into Dunster from the south.

The name of the bridge

The original name of the bridge was Doddebrigge, by which it is referred to in the 14th century, but by Tudor times it had become Gallocksbrigge, Gallox Bridge, or Gallocks Bridge.

All these names derive from the gallows that stood on a hill outside the village. The gallows were a symbol of the authority of the lords of Dunster Castle, who had the right to try and hang any thief caught within the area of their jurisdiction.