Dating from the 15th century, it is the only bridge of its kind in the area now covered by the West Midlands, and is a grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument.

In the 1830s, the Blythe Viaduct was built to carry the London and Birmingham Railway slightly upstream from the packhorse bridge and the ford.

The railway viaduct and the packhorse bridge both feature in an 1838 lithograph by John Cooke Bourne.

Medieval traders used them with pack horses (animals laden with pannier bags containing merchandise) to carry goods to market.

[8] The bridge is a grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument, both conservation statuses which provide legal protection from demolition or unauthorised modification.