Ruthernbridge
title: "Ruthernbridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-cornwall"] topic_path: "general/villages-in-cornwall" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthernbridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| country | England |
| map_type | Cornwall |
| static_image | Postbox at Ruthernbridge, Cornwall - geograph.org.uk - 212560.jpg |
| static_image_width | 250px |
| static_image_caption | The postbox at Ruthernbridge |
| coordinates | |
| official_name | Ruthernbridge |
| cornish_name | Ponsrudhyn |
| unitary_england | Cornwall |
| lieutenancy_england | Cornwall |
| region | South West England |
| constituency_westminster | North Cornwall |
| post_town | BODMIN |
| postcode_district | PL30 |
| postcode_area | PL |
| dial_code | 01208 |
| os_grid_reference | SX 01293 66832 |
| :: |
|country = England |map_type = Cornwall |static_image = Postbox at Ruthernbridge, Cornwall - geograph.org.uk - 212560.jpg |static_image_width = 250px |static_image_caption = The postbox at Ruthernbridge |coordinates = |official_name = Ruthernbridge |cornish_name = Ponsrudhyn |unitary_england = Cornwall |lieutenancy_england = Cornwall |region = South West England |constituency_westminster = North Cornwall |post_town = BODMIN |postcode_district = PL30 |postcode_area = PL |dial_code = 01208 |os_grid_reference = SX 01293 66832 Ruthernbridge () is a village in the parish of Withiel in Cornwall, England, UK.
History
The village is centred around an early 15th-century bridge with two pointed arches which carries the road over the River Ruthern.
The old wesleyan chapel, which was built in 1879, and the adjacent coach house, are both Grade 2 listed buildings.
Railway
When the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway (B&W) was built in 1834 it included a short branch of about 1.25 mi from Grogley Junction to Ruthernbridge. Although not a requirement, the B&W placed stone markers every quarter of a mile, and a marker stone at each terminus showing the distance to the company's headquarters in Wadebridge, that at Ruthernbridge showing a distance of 4 miles 1 furlong 5 chains 10 yards.{{cite book |last = Fairclough |first = Tony |title = The Story of Cornwall's Railways |publisher = Tor Mark Press |location = Truro |year = 1970 |pages = 12–14 }} The main use of the line was to carry sand to local farms for use as a soil improver while ores of Lead, Iron and Copper from Mulberry Mine and Iron from Blackhay Mine were taken out. Although there was never an official passenger service on the branch and no platform or other facilities were provided, passengers were carried in the tool wagon. The line ran along a lane for almost the whole length falling at a gentle incline of 1 in 158, this requiring any wagons left at Ruthernbridge to be chained to the rails to prevent them running away. In later years the only engines to work the branch were Beattie well tanks, which would work chimney-first to Ruthernbridge and then propel their train back to the junction as there were no run-round facilities as Grogley. The last train to Ruthernbridge ran on 29 November 1933 and the line officially closed on 30 December that year, less than 1 year short of its centenary.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Ruthern_branch.jpg" caption="Trackbed of the branch line to Ruthernbridge in 2020" alt="Trackbed of the branch to Ruthernbridge where it crosses the lane, taken in 2020"] ::
Mining
The oldest mine working in the area is Mulberry Mine which dates back at least to Roman times, when it was one of only three mines in the county producing tin. Indeed, mining was, for a short period in the 19th century, a major industry locally, and seven different mines used the railhead at Ruthernbridge to convey their ores out for smelting.
References
References
- "Ruthernbridge (EN) / Ponsrudhyn (KW)". Akademi Kernewek.
- "Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin''". Ordnance Survey.
- Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall''; 2nd ed., revised by Enid Radcliffe. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 241
- "Ruthernbridge Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and Attached Coach House".
- (1979). "Bodmin and Wadebridge 1834-1978". D Bradford Barton.
- Ingrey, Jack. (1989). "The Camel Footpath : From Wadebridge to Bodmin and Wenfordbridge". Lodenek Press.
- (2020). "Blackhay Mine, Withiel". mindat.org.
- (1996). "Branch lines around Bodmin". Middleton Press.
- (16 September 2018). "King Arthur's Britain: The Truth Unearthed".
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