The structure was offered for sale by Summers Place Auctions of Billingshurst, West Sussex, via a sealed bid auction which closed on October 6.
The successful bidder offered £101,250 (or £131,625 including the 25% buyer’s premium and VAT).
The ‘Hundred Acre Wood’, made famous by Milne (who lived nearby) and EH Shepard’s illustrations, forms part of the Buckhurst Park estate in Withyham, East Sussex.
The bridge, made of carved oak and built c.1907 in Ashdown Forest, was a river crossing for horses, carts and pedestrians and originally known as Posingford Bridge.
It beacme famous after the success of Winnie-the-Pooh.
Over the years it was restored and reconstructed, replicating Shepard’s original illustrations, and in 1979 it was reopened by Christopher Robin Milne and officially renamed as Poohsticks Bridge.
The bridge was replaced entirely in 1999 (with funding from local groups and the Disney Corporation) and the original version dismantled and stored for many years in the Ashdown Forest Centre.
It was then consigned to Summers Place by the local parish council this year.
The bridge, restored and reconstructed using local oak with each piece numbered and accompanied by drawings and an analysis, will now return to the area.
Lord De La Warr, whose father was a childhood friend of Christopher Milne, said: “I am delighted to have been able to purchase the original bridge. It will take pride of place on the estate close to its original position and I hope that many children (and adults) will be able to admire it.”
Winnie-the-Pooh is celebrating his 100th birthday this year – he was given to Christopher Robin Milne on his first birthday in 1921.
