St Lawrence’s Bridge was a fortified bridge in Bath, Somerset. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century to cross the River Avon, its gatehouse was dismantled in the 1640s, and the rest of the bridge was was replaced with a newer structure in 1754.
History
The bridge was probably built in the late 12th or early 13th century, with the first documentary reference surviving from 1220. It crossed the River Avon, south of the main city walls, along the route to Bristol. Extensive work took place on it in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The masonry bridge was supported by five arches, crossing the river on four piers. The stone gatehouse on the bridge lay over the southern side of the river; the tiny chapel of Saint Lawrence was constructed on the second set of arches from the north side. The gatehouse was dismantled during or after the English Civil War of the 17th century.
By 1754, the bridge had become inconvenient for traffic and the city authorities took the decision to widen it. The new bridge used the same piers, but was otherwise entirely rebuilt. This bridge was widened in the 1840s and 1870s, but remained in use until the 1960s. It was finally replaced in 1965 by the nearby Churchill Bridge.
Bibliography
- Buchanan, Angus. (1990) “Bridges of Bath”, Bath History, Volume 3, pp.1-21.
- Green, E. (1893) “Bath Old Bridge and the Oratory thereon,” Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, Volume 7, pp. 25-34.
Attribution
The text of this page is licensed under under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Photographs on this page include those drawn from the British Museum website, as of 29 May 2020, and attributed and licensed as follows: adapted from “An East View of Bath Bridge“, photograph copyright The Trustees of the British Museum, released under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.