Old Dee Bridge

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Old Dee Bridge
Old Dee Bridge from DownStream 2.jpg
Old Dee Bridge
Coordinates 53°11′08″N2°53′19″W / 53.185506°N 2.888718°W / 53.185506; -2.888718
CarriesBridge Street
(vehicles and pedestrians)
Crosses River Dee
Locale Chester, Cheshire, England
Heritage statusGrade I
Characteristics
Design Arch bridge
Material Sandstone
No. of spans7
Statistics
TollNone
Location
Old Dee Bridge

The Old Dee Bridge in Chester, Cheshire, England, is the oldest bridge in the city. It crosses the River Dee carrying the road that leads from the bottom of Lower Bridge Street and the Bridgegate to Handbridge. A bridge on this site was first built in the Roman era, and the present bridge is largely the result of a major rebuilding in 1387. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, [1] and is a scheduled monument. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Old Dee Bridge circa 1765-80, in a painting attributed to Edmund Garvey Old Dee Bridge.jpg
Old Dee Bridge circa 1765–80, in a painting attributed to Edmund Garvey

The original bridge was built for the Romans and probably had stone piers carrying a timber carriageway. This seems to have disappeared by the 10th century, as in the reign of Queen Æthelflæd of Mercia (AD 911–918) there was only a ferry. [4]

A bridge had been built by 1086, when the Domesday Book records that the Provost of Chester Castle could summon a man from every hide of land in Cheshire to rebuild Chester's walls and bridge. [5] The bridge was reached by a causeway, which according to a manuscript in the Harleian Collection was built for Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester (died 1101) along with watermills on the Dee at that point. [5]

The bridge was repaired in the next two centuries but in 1279–80 the timber superstructure was swept away.[ citation needed ] Further repairs were made by Sir Thomas de Ferrers, Justice of Chester in about 1347–49 [6] and by Stephen de Merton in the 1350s. [7]

In 1357 Edward, the Black Prince ordered the mayor and citizens of Chester to make:

...with all speed their part of the bridge of Dee... in the same manner and style as the remainder of the bridge which has been newly made. [8]

It is likely that this rebuilding resulted in the bridge that exists today. [9] In 1367 the citizens of Chester were granted murage (the toll for repair of the town walls) but all profits went "to the fabric and for the repair of the bridge". [8] In December 1388 a grant of pontage was made to the "mayor, bailiffs and good men of Chester" for a period of three years. [8]

One of the pointed arches Old Dee Bridge from DownStream 4.jpg
One of the pointed arches

The bridge is built in local red sandstone. It has seven arches, all of which are of different dimensions. [1] The two northernmost arches formerly spanned the leat leading to the mills. The southernmost arch replaced the medieval drawbridge.

A tower was built on the bridge between 1399 and 1407, as part of the city's defences. [10] In 1407 a moiety (i.e. half) of the murage was allowed to complete the tower gatehouse on the bridge. [8]

The gatehouse was demolished in 1781. [11] In 1825–26 the bridge was widened by Thomas Harrison to provide a footway on the upstream side. [12] Around this time it was decided that it was becoming inadequate for the expected traffic and it was decided to build an additional bridge to link the city with North Wales. The result was the Grosvenor Bridge, designed by Thomas Harrison and officially opened in 1832 although it was not finished for traffic to cross it until 1 January 1834. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

Thomas Harrison (architect)

Thomas Harrison was an English architect and bridge engineer who trained in Rome, where he studied classical architecture. Returning to England, he won the competition in 1782 for the design of Skerton Bridge in Lancaster. After moving to Lancaster he worked on local buildings, received commissions for further bridges, and designed country houses in Scotland. In 1786 Harrison was asked to design new buildings within the grounds of Lancaster and Chester castles, projects that occupied him, together with other works, until 1815. On both sites he created accommodation for prisoners, law courts, and a shire hall, while working on various other public buildings, gentlemen's clubs, churches, houses, and monuments elsewhere. His final major commission was for the design of Grosvenor Bridge in Chester.

Grosvenor Bridge (Chester)

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Chester city walls

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St John the Baptists Church, Chester Church in Cheshire, England

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St Nicholas Chapel, Chester

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Joseph Turner was an architect of Welsh origin who worked in the 18th century. Most of his major works were in North Wales, and in Chester, Cheshire. Almost all of them were in Georgian style, with at least one work in Gothic style, in Mold, Flintshire, Wales. Turner also designed memorials in Chester Cathedral, and in the churches of St Peter, Prestbury, St Margaret, Wrenbury, St Peter, Ruthin, and St Collen, Llangollen. Turner was a member of Chester Assembly.

Watergate House, Chester

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James Harrison (1814–66) was an English architect who practised in Chester, Cheshire, England. He is considered to be a pioneer of the Black-and-white Revival, an example of which is 51–53, Bridge Street, Chester, built in 1858. In 1862 he rebuilt the medieval timber-framed God's Providence House in Chester, which has been described as "the first conservation case in the modern sense". He designed new churches in Gothic Revival style, some of which have been designated as listed buildings, including Holy Ascension Church, Upton by Chester, Holy Trinity Church, Capenhurst, St Luke's Church, Dunham on the Hill, and Holy Trinity Church, Chester. Harrison also made alterations to other churches, including the virtual rebuilding of St Michael's Church, Chester, rebuilding the nave of All Saints Church, Handley, and working on the tower of the Church of St Mary-on-the Hill, Chester. He designed the Trustee Savings Bank in Chester, and converted the medieval St Nicholas' Chapel in Chester into a concert hall. Harrison worked for Robert Balfour, building farms on his Bolesworth estate, and at Tattenhall Hall.

Town Crier public house

The Town Crier is a public house located on the corner of City Road and Station Road, Chester, Cheshire, England. It stands opposite Chester General Station. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

33 Eastgate Street, Chester, at the corner of Eastgate Street and St Werburgh Street, Chester, England, was built in 1859–60 for the Chester Bank and, as of 2012, it continues in use as the NatWest Bank. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is in Neoclassical style, but was built at the time that the Black-and-white Revival was underway in the city, and was therefore the subject of much criticism for being "out of place". It consists of three storeys, with five bays on the Eastgate Street side, and three bays facing St Werburgh Street. The ground floor is rusticated with tall round-arched openings. On the side facing Eastgate Street the middle three bays of the upper storeys are occupied by a blank portico with four Corinthian columns supporting a pediment with modillion cornices. All the windows are sashes. The banking hall has a panelled ceiling carried on four Ionic columns.

Thomas Meakin Lockwood

Thomas Meakin Lockwood was an English architect whose main works are in and around Chester, Cheshire. He was born in London, and brought up in East Anglia. From 1851 he was articled to Philip Causton Lockwood, the Borough Surveyor of Brighton. He then worked in offices including that of George Woodhouse, and of T. M. Penson in Chester. In 1862 he established an independent practice in Chester. His works are located mainly in Cheshire, Shropshire, and North Wales, his designs being influenced by John Douglas and Norman Shaw. These are frequently either timber-framed, or in brick and stone incorporating Tudor, Elizabethan and Renaissance features. In Cheshire and North Wales, his most important patron was the First Duke of Westminster. Lockwood's most prominent buildings, which stand at Chester Cross, were commissioned by the Duke. They stand on opposite corners at the north end of Bridge Street, and are in contrasting styles. Number 1 Bridge Street, built in 1888, is timber-framed in Black-and-white Revival style. Number 2–8 Bridge Street, built in 1894, is in stone and diapered brick, and incorporates Tudor, Jacobean and Baroque features. Lockwood also designed the Grosvenor Museum, also in Chester, and built in 1885–86. It is constructed in red brick, and is in Renaissance style with Dutch gables.

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. It contains over 650 structures that are designated as listed buildings by English Heritage and included in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, over 500 are listed at Grade II, the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings and applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". This list contains the Grade II listed buildings in the unparished area of the city to the north and west of the Chester city walls.

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. It contains over 650 structures that are designated as listed buildings by English Heritage and included in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, over 500 are listed at Grade II, the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings and applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". This list contains the Grade II listed buildings in the unparished area of the city to the east of the Chester city walls and to the south of the Shropshire Union Canal.

Grade II listed buildings in Chester (central)

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England containing over 650 structures that are designated as listed buildings by English Heritage and included in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, over 500 are listed at Grade II, the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings and applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". This list contains the Grade II listed buildings in the central unparished area of the city within Chester city walls or located adjacent to them.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England, "Old Dee Bridge, Chester (1375850)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 15 July 2012
  2. ↑ Historic England, "Dee Bridge, Chester (1006771)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 15 July 2012
  3. ↑ "Pastscape: Dee Bridge", Historic England , retrieved 4 April 2009
  4. ↑ Jervoise 1936, p. 25.
  5. 1 2 Jervoise 1936, p. 26.
  6. ↑ Jervoise 1936, p. 27.
  7. ↑ Jervoise 1936, pp. 27–28.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Jervoise 1936 , p. 28.
  9. ↑ Ward 2009, p. 56.
  10. ↑ Driver 1971, p. 54.
  11. ↑ Langtree & Comyns 2001, pp. 84–85.
  12. ↑ Hartwell et al. 2011, pp. 249–250.
  13. ↑ Jervoise 1936, p. 32.

Bibliography

Coordinates: 53°11′08″N2°53′19″W / 53.185506°N 2.888718°W / 53.185506; -2.888718

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