St Ives Bridge is a 15th-century bridge crossing the River Great Ouse in St Ives,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

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 ...

. It is noted for being one of only four bridges in England to incorporate a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

(the others being at

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 ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, and

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

History

Prior to the first bridge here there was a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

across the Ouse, probably dating back several thousand years. The river was at that time wider and shallower until locks were added to make it navigable.Information board, Norris Museum, St Ives The St Ives settlement was developed by the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s of Ramsey Abbey who built the town's first bridge, a

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

structure, in 1107. In 1414 it was decided to replace this bridge with a

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

, which was completed in 1425, adding the bridge chapel dedicated to

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

St Ives a new Millenium p.8-9 St Ives Photo Publication Group. Inchcape 2002. in 1426. Such chapels were relatively common in medieval times and served as toll-houses, as well as to allow travellers to pray or to give thanks for a safe journey. They also hosted church services. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

the bridge was partially blown up by the troops of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

to prevent King Charles I's troops approaching

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

from the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

base in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. The two arches on the southern side were demolished and a drawbridge installed in 1645 as a defensive measure by Cromwell's forces, who held the town. The drawbridge remained in use until 1716. When the bridge was partially rebuilt that year, the shape of the new arches was different from the surviving ones, leaving the bridge with two rounded arches on its South side and two

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

arches on the North. At some point, the bridge chapel fell into disuse and was for a time used as a bawdy house during the eighteenth century. St Ives was an official last stop of all the many drovers with their livestock, who descended upon St Ives for accommodation, refreshments and other relief, during what was a tiring journey to Smithfield market within London. At one time there were dozens of doss houses, inns and other bawdy houses, in and around St Ives town centre. Bridge, St

The chapel was restored in 1930, having previously served as a

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th an ...

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

and as a private residence. It had been designed as a chapel, though, and dedicated by the monks to Saint Leger. By 1736 it was being used as accommodation, and in that year two extra floors were added. During the 1850s and 1860s it was turned into a notorious public house named "Little Hell", then a doctor's surgery. By 1930 the structure was found to be weakened so the extra stories were removed and the chapel restored. As a result, the

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of te ...

is modern. An unusual feature is the crypt, about two metres above the river's water level. The bridge and the chapel are now Grade I listed and a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The chapel is still used for public worship on an occasional basis. The bridge served as the primary southern entrance to the town and the only road bridge across the river until Harrison Way by-pass was added down-river to the east in 1980.

Preservation

The bridge is one of nine Scheduled Ancient Monument Grade 1 in Cambridgeshire. All maintenance must be carried out in a sympathetic manner to preserve its aesthetic and functional aspects. Since 1980 the foundations have been strengthened and the structure reinforced. In 1998 the bridge was resurfaced, special precautions being taken to prevent water ingress into the structure. In 2002, external lighting of the arches and chapel was fitted, along with internal lighting of the chapel and lights fitted into the pedestrian refuges at each pier.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

control all work on the bridge, although it is not one of the properties in Cambridgeshire that they own.English Heritage Properties - free for members

Recent events

1976

A gravel lorry breached the parapet. St Ives sub-aqua club recovered the stones from the river-bed. George Hunter from Huntington was one of the local tradesman assigned to restore the chapel after this event. All tradesmen who worked on the project have details engraved on the stones that rebuilt the bridge chapel.

1947

During the big flood this year an amphibious tank breached the parapet.

1941

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

Bren gun carrier The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other ...

breached the parapet.

Notes

External links

Photographs exploring the Chapel
and showing the previous extra floors.
Night picture of the bridge and Chapel
newly floodlighted in 2002/3.

provided by

British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...

Bridge maintenance policy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ives Bridge Bridges across the River Great Ouse Bridges in Cambridgeshire Buildings and structures completed in 1107 Bridges completed in 1425 Deck arch bridges Grade I listed bridges Grade I listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Scheduled monuments in Cambridgeshire Stone bridges in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Huntingdonshire Arch bridges in England Bridges completed in the 12th century Former toll bridges in England Bridges with buildings

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 ...