Rotherham Bridge crosses the River Don in central

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

. It is known for its

bridge chapel A bridge chapel is a small place of Christian worship, built either on, or immediately adjacent to, a road bridge; they were commonly established during pre-Reformation medieval era in Europe. Although sometimes built on land at the very start o ...

, considered the best preserved in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. David Hey, ''Medieval South Yorkshire'' A document of 1385 refers to Bridgegate in the town, which implies that a previous

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

existed on the same site. The road it carries was originally the main route from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. The current bridge was erected by 1483, when the Chapel of Our Lady of Rotherham Bridge was added. It is of

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

and is built on three piers, each with a cutwater. John Leland, writing around 1540, described a "fair Stone Bridge of iiii arches" and "a Chapel of Stone well wrought". The chapel was dissolved in 1547 and converted into first an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

, then the town gaol and finally a shop. The bridge was altered in 1768–69 by John Platt, working for

John Carr of York John Carr (1723–1807) was a prolific English architect, best known for Buxton Crescent in Derbyshire and Harewood House in West Yorkshire. Much of his work was in the Palladian style. In his day he was considered to be the leading architect in ...

, but was restored to its original dimensions by Reginald Blomfield in 1927, when Chantry Bridge was built alongside. The chapel was restored at the same time. The bridge is

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

References

{{coord, 53, 25, 57.5, N, 1, 21, 29.4, W, type:landmark, display=title Bridges completed in 1483 Bridges in South Yorkshire Buildings and structures in Rotherham Bridges over the River Don, South Yorkshire Grade I listed buildings in South Yorkshire Scheduled monuments in South Yorkshire Grade I listed bridges

See also

References