Framwellgate Bridge is a medieval masonry arch bridge across the River Wear, in Durham, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]
Framwellgate Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Framwellgate Bridge, in 2011 | |
| Coordinates | 54°46′34″N 1°34′41″W / 54.7761°N 1.5781°W |
| OS grid reference | NZ272424 |
| Carries | Pedestrians |
| Crosses | River Wear |
| Locale | City of Durham, County Durham, England |
| Heritage status | Grade I listed |
| Preceded by | Prebends Bridge |
| Followed by | Milburngate Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Two segmental arches with seven reinforcing ribs. Central pier with cutwaters. Possible third arch (no longer visible). |
| Material | Stone |
| Total length | 2 main spans total 30 yd (27 m) |
| Width | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| No. of spans | 2 known; probably 3 total |
| Piers in water | 1 |
| History | |
| Construction start | After 1400 |
| Construction end | 15th century |
| Replaces | Stone bridge built circa 1120 |
| Location | |
 | |
History
editThe bridge was built after 1400 to replace one built early in the 12th century for Ranulf Flambard, who was Bishop of Durham 1099–1128.[2] Flambard's bridge seems to have had five or six arches.[3] A record of a lawsuit in 1437 records that Flambard's bridge:
...was broken by a flood during the Festival of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1400.[2]
Until the replacement bridge was completed a ferry was substituted, the profit from which was shared between the Bishop of Durham and the Prior of Durham Cathedral Priory.[2]
The current bridge is of two shallow arches, each with several reinforcing ribs.[3] Their combined span is about 30 yards (27 m).[3] The early 16th-century antiquary John Leland recorded that there were three arches.[3] A watercolour of Durham Cathedral painted by Thomas Girtin in 1799 shows a third arch, with a rounded shape[3] characteristic of Norman architecture. Buildings at the central Durham end of the bridge may conceal the third arch, which may be a surviving part of Flambard's original 12th-century bridge.[3]
Some sources indicate that both ends of the bridge were fortified by towers and gates, though others infer only a single gatehouse was built on the peninsula side of the river.[citation needed] The gateway and tower at the eastern end of the bridge were deemed an obstruction to traffic and demolished in 1760.[3] A flood destroyed two houses at the end of the bridge in 1771.[3] Early in the 19th century the bridge was widened on its upstream side.[3] It is now 27 feet (8.2 m) wide.[3] Of the reinforcing ribs under each arch, five belong to the 15th-century bridge and two to the 19th-century widening.[3]
In 1318, Robert Neville, the "Peacock of the North", murdered his cousin, the Bishop's Steward, Sir Richard Fitzmarmaduke, at Framwellgate Bridge.[citation needed]
Until the building of Milburngate Bridge in 1969, Framwellgate Bridge was the main traffic route from the west through the centre of Durham. Today, the bridge is pedestrianised.
References
edit
- ^ Historic England (6 May 1952). "Framwellgate Bridge (1322872)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ a b c Jervoise 1931, p. 43
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Jervoise 1931, p. 44
Sources
edit- Jervoise, Edwyn (1931). The Ancient Bridges of the North of England. Vol. II. Westminster: The Architectural Press for the SPAB. pp. 40, 43–44.