The first bridge at Fordingbridge was built before 1252, when the bailiff and men of the town received a grant of pontage for one year towards its repairs. Several similar grants followed, the last being dated in 1452. The bridge is 40 metres long and consists of seven stone arches, and it is the one of the two bridges with seven arches in the UK. The bridge brought much traffic through the town. At the east end of the bridge was a Saint John the Baptist Hospital (hospitalry) for poor travellers. It was founded 1272, and dissolved 1546; some foundation walls remain, but no other remains.