New bridge opens on route taken by Constable

Suffolk County Council thanked walkers people for their patience during the two-year closure of the crossing

A new bridge has opened across a river that was used by world-renowned landscape artist John Constable on his walk to school.

The wooden Fen Bridge over the River Stour between Essex and Suffolk, closed in June 2020 due to safety concerns.

An older version of the bridge featured in Constable's The Stour Valley And Dedham Village, painted between 1814 and 1815.

The footbridge is part of a footpath between Dedham in Essex and East Bergholt in Suffolk.

Constable's painting, also known as The Stour Valley and Dedham Church, mostly features one of his skies, and a pile of dung in the foreground

The new bridge replaces the timber construction, which dated from 1985.

It was closed when the Covid lockdown was in full swing, meaning people out for a walk lost a river crossing.

Suffolk County Council said the new bridge, which weighs 13 tonnes and is 80ft (24m) long, was lifted into place in September.

The new Fen Bridge was expected to last 120 years.

A close-up of Fen Bridge on a bend in the Stour from Constable's painting

Fen Bridge crosses a section of the Stour used by paddle boarders and people hiring rowing boats

Paul West, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for operational highways and flooding, said: "This bridge is an incredibly important part of these communities and such a fantastic asset to this area of outstanding natural beauty."

The former bridge was removed in March 2022, having been in place for about 37 years

The East Bergholt Society said Constable would walk from Fen Lane over the bridge every day to school in Dedham.

It was "apparently the favourite part of his journey", and featured in many of his works of art, it added.

The National Trust said Constable studied at the Royal Grammar School in Dedham, which "encouraged his interest in calligraphy and drawing... [and] instilled in him a deep knowledge and love for the Suffolk countryside".

The location of some of Constable's most famous works, such as the Haywain, is about half a mile downstream from the bridge at Flatford.

The old Fen Bridge was shut in 2020 and removed over a year later