Knowlmere Manor is an 18th century calendar house near Dunsop Bridge, calendar houses being an architectural style whereas features of the building correspond to numbers on a calendar, i.e: 52 windows, 12 gable-ends or 7 chimneys etc.
The manor has two private access roads one of which crosses over the river Hodder, called Knowlmere Manor bridge. (I’ll cover the manor and estate in another article)
(Bill Boaden)
Knowlmere bridge
The bridge is a bit of a hodge-Podge of styles and construction, composing of 19th century stonework and abutments (the ends of a bridge) with a 20th century, reinforced concrete span and parapets made from concrete posts infilled with brick.
ferro-concrete bridge in 1904
(Grace’s Guides)
Originally the bridge was composed of two wrought iron lattice girders, similar to the White bridge (pictured below) at Dunnow, Lodge further upstream, with red sandstone Ashlar (dressed stone) abutments, and instead of a concrete span it had timber decking, which the white bridge also originally had.
The original bridge was built in 1873 and the new spans, 3.7m wide and both 13m in length, were commissioned in 1903 by the owner of the estate William Peel. The designer of the new concrete span was Louis Gustave Mouchel.
Mouchel, after whom one of the world’s biggest civil engineering firms (now part of multi-national conglomerate WSP) was named, was one of the first engineers to adopt the, then new, technique of reinforcing concrete with iron, called ‘ferro-concrete’, and the new spans at Knowlmere were one of the first examples of this in the country. The first being at Chewton glen in Hampshire which was built in 1902.
Knowlmere bridge is a private road and not part of the public highway but a public footpath crosses the bridge and takes you on a very scenic and easy-going route beside the Hodder, across the fields and past Knowlmere manor where Sherlock Holmes mystery ‘The Silver Blaze’ was filmed in 1988, it’s an unbelievably beautiful part of the valley and the manor itself is stunning to look at so I’d recommend taking your camera as well!
A B-H
Northwest Nature and History 
Never knew about the “calendar house” idea. Wiki came up with “365 windows, 52 rooms, 12 chimneys, 7 external doors, and 4 wings (representing the seasons)” which could be true for Knowlmere. There are a lot of chimneys!
I have been across that bridge several times along the beautiful Hodder, but not sure there is a public right of way there. There certainly is coming from Giddy Bridge.
Perhaps we shouldn’t tell too many people about the hidden charms of this area.
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Calendar houses are a bonkers idea but the architects of knowlmere executed it quite well, i think they mostly stuck to that format but there’s variations on the theme, there’s one in Yorkshire, Scout Hall i think it’s called, with 365 panes of glass and 52 doors! I’ve been around Knowlmere a lot as one of our family friends was Bloynan Peel, it’s unfortunately falling to bits though, this article was intended as a kind of introduction to a future article about Knowlmere also because I’m trying to write about the history of all the bridges over the Hodder, as they’ve all got interesting stories to tell, though maybe you’re right and we shouldn’t tell too many people!
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