Somerset Bridge

At 22 inches wide the

Somerset Bridge is said to be the world’s smallest drawbridge. The bridge is just wide enough for the mast of a well-sailed sail boat to pass through, although the ship will have to either have an appointment or wait for a kind passer by to help out by lifting the gate.

Cranked open by hand in the past, the drawbridge is now two cantilevered half-spans, separated by a 18-inch gap connected by a wooden panel that needs to be removed by hand.

The bridge is nearly 400 years old (built 1620) and has been featured on a 2009 series of Bermudian five dollar banknotes. A few nearby buildings share the Somerset name, in homage to the tiny, manpowered bridge.