EXHIBIT 23

                        INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS' CONSENT




The Board of Directors
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.:


We consent to incorporation  by reference in the  registration  statements (Nos.
333-72277,  333-48315,  333-13167  and  33-23048)  on  Forms  S-8,  and  in  the
registration statements (Nos. 333-13821, 33-28065 and 333-42502) on Forms S-3 of
Washington  Trust  Bancorp,  Inc. and subsidiary of our report dated January 14,
2003,  relating to the consolidated  balance sheets of Washington Trust Bancorp,
Inc.  and  subsidiary  as of  December  31,  2002  and  2001,  and  the  related
consolidated  statements  of income,  changes in  shareholders'  equity and cash
flows for each of the years in the  three-year  period ended  December 31, 2002,
which  report  appears in the  December  31, 2002 annual  report on Form 10-K of
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.


KPMG LLP


Providence, Rhode Island
March 18, 2003