Old Dee Bridge

For the bridge and district in Aberdeen, see Bridge of Dee.

For the village in Dumfries and Galloway, see Bridge of Dee, Galloway.

Old Dee Bridge
Old Dee Bridge
Carries	Vehicles and pedestrians
Crosses	River Dee
Locale	Chester, Cheshire, England
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Sandstone
Number of spans	7
Toll	None
Heritage status	Grade I
Coordinates	53°11′08″N 2°53′19″W / 53.185506°N 2.888718°W / 53.185506; -2.888718

Old Dee Bridge from a painting dated 1765–80

The Old Dee Bridge, in Chester, Cheshire, England, is the oldest bridge in the city. It crosses the River Dee carrying the road which leads from the bottom of Lower Bridge Street and the Bridgegate to Handbridge. A bridge on this site was originally built by the Romans and the present bridge is largely the result of a major rebuilding in 1387. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building,^[1] and is a scheduled monument.^[2][3]

History

The original bridge was built by the Romans and was probably constructed of stone piers with a timber carriageway. It is likely that this structure was still present at the time of the Norman Conquest. Repairs were made to it during the next two centuries but in 1279–80 the timber superstructure was swept away. Further repairs were carried out in the 1340s and the 1350s. In 1387 the citizens of Chester were allowed to convert the murage (the toll for repair of the town walls) for a further repair. It is likely that this work resulted in the bridge which is present today.^[4] In 1826 it was widened to provide a footway on the upstream side.^[1] 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. This resulted in the Grosvenor Bridge, designed by Thomas Harrison and opened in 1832 (although it was not finished until the following year).^[5]

Architecture

The bridge is built in local red sandstone. It has seven arches, all of which are of unequal dimensions.^[1] The two northernmost arches formerly spanned the leat leading to the mills. The southernmost arch replaced the medieval drawbridge. The arch next to it formerly contained the base of a defensive gatehouse that was demolished in 1781.^[6]

See also

• List of Grade I listed buildings in Chester

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Old Dee Bridge", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1375850, retrieved 30 April 2011 
2. ^ Pastscape: Dee Bridge, English Heritage, http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=69114, retrieved 4 April 2009 
3. ^ "Dee Bridge", The National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), 2011, http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1006771, retrieved 30 April 2011 
4. ^ Ward 2009, p. 56.
5. ^ Ward 2009, pp. 83–86.
6. ^ Langtree & Comyns 2001, pp. 84–85.

Bibliography

• Langtree, Stephen; Comyns, Alan, eds. (2001), 2000 Years of Building: Chester's Architectural Legacy, Chester: Chester Civic Trust, ISBN 0-9540152-0-7 
• Ward, Simon (2009), Chester: A History, Chichester: Phillimore, ISBN 978-1-86077-499-7 

External links

• Map sources for Old Dee Bridge
• Images at geograph

Coordinates: 53°11′08″N 2°53′19″W / 53.185506°N 2.888718°W / 53.185506; -2.888718