Bridgegate in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England, forms part of the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

History

The Roman city walls were extended to the south in the 12th century with a wall parallel to the north bank of the River Dee. This section of the wall incorporated the original Bridgegate which must have been built by the 1120s, as the office of sergeant of the gate was recorded in that decade. The gate guarded the southern entrance to the town; the road from North Wales ran through the gateway directly after crossing the Old Dee Bridge. It is possible that the gateway was rebuilt at the time the bridge was rebuilt in the later part of the 14th century. Between 1521 and 1624 the bridge tolls were controlled by the Talbot family, the Earls of Shrewsbury, whose town house, now the Bear and Billet, was nearby. At the end of the 15th century the bridge consisted of a Gothic arch with a tower on each side. In 1600–01 a square tower was added which contained machinery for lifting river water into the town. This was known as John Tyrer's Water Tower, after its builder, but the tower was destroyed in the siege of Chester in 1644–65. The present bridge was built in 1781 for Chester City Corporation, the architect being Joseph Turner.

Architecture

Bridgegate is built in yellow sandstone

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 ...

in neoclassical style and consists of a segmental arch over the carriageway with a round pedestrian archway in each abutment. Along its top are balustraded parapets on each side of the footpath.

References

External links

The Bridgegate on 'Chester: a Virtual Stroll Around the Walls'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chester, Bridgegate Bridges in Cheshire

Bridgegate Bridgegate may refer to: * Bridgegate, Chester, part of the city walls of Chester, U.K. * The Fort Lee lane closure scandal under New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration See also * Drawbridge, a type of bridge stereotypically employ ...

Former toll bridges in England Stone bridges in England Town Gates in England Grade I listed bridges Grade I listed buildings in Chester Grade I listed gates Joseph Turner (architect) buildings Neoclassical architecture in Cheshire Stone arch bridges