The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-26
BRIDGES IN OLDEN TIMES.

| BEFORE there was any bridge here at al
a ferry piled between Southwark anC
Churchyard alley. The ancient sons
London Bridge is Broken Down
points to the early pagan practice Of
building living people into the stone.
work of bridges to ensure their perma-
| nence; and it would seem that this bar
| barous thing was zone with the first
London Bridge The stone bridge was
| commenced in the year 1176, but there
had been an earlier wooden structure
| and in this case the walling-in of liv-
ing victims may more likely be referred
to the first bridge, whether of wood OF
stone, than to the later one. Much
pueased by the bridges he saw in
France, King, John brought over a
skilled French workman; and he re-
solved that the revenue arising from
the houses he should build on the
bridge should be devoted TO the proper
repairing of the fabric. The arches
were narrow sometimes causing acct
dents to boats passing underneath; and
occasionally it seems that whole
blocks of the housees falling in bad
repair, would topple over into the river.
One of the twenty arches was used to
form a drawbridge. The bridge gained
a sad notoriety as the resting place of
the decaying heads of condemned men,
often miscalled TRAITORS The old
Bow Bridge built by Queen Matilda at
Standardization in the twelfth CEN
turyIsurvived till lately in much-re-
stored condition; the charge of it was
frirr tN,r;
hard by. 1T was simple stone struc-
ture, of three arches, and was not only
often in bad repair. but was used by
It's Keepers to ,extort money from pas
sengers. From the frequency with
which the prefix bridge occurs in the
names of places, one might imagine
that many of our towns and villages
have been named from their bridges,
and such is indeed often the case; but
in many other instances the prefix
comes really from the name of st.
Bride, or Bridget, one OF the most pop
ular of Celtic saints. AT another STRAIT
ford, that situated on the Avon and
destined to worldwide fame, there was
in Leland's time a poor bridge of TIM
Der, so insecure that "Inany poore folks
and other refused to come to Stratford
when Avon was up, or commynge thth-
er stood in jeopardye of lyfe." 1t re-
manned for Sir Hugh of Clopton. once
mayor of London, to erect the existing
fine structure, which, says Leland,
hath fourteen great arches of stone, |
and long causey made of stone, lowe
walled on each syde, at the west ends
If the bridge This was the bridge |
hat Shakespeare knew, and to all in |
-ents and purposes 1t Is the bridge that |
still stands. Another bridge still exist
ng is interesting in that we possess the |
original contract by which 1t was built |
After giving minute particulars as to |
low this bridge of Chatterick should be
)ult, the document ends: "And We
aides John, Tho, and Rob, scllale
his foresaid brigge sufficiently in ma
'oncraft make and fully per-furnist in
III partiez and holy endyd be We Fest
# Saint Michille We Archangelle quilk
e shalle fall in ye we're of our Lorde
lode Nile. CCCCXXV." The price for
his Yorkshire bridge is also stipulated.
sometimes the maintenance of bridges
1as provided for by tells sometimes by
Inns, sometimes by the churchs ndul-
ences. Persons frequently contracted
0 keep a certain bridge in order in re-
urn for the toll; and in those days 1t
oes without saying that the exacting
the toll was more vigorously exer-
lsed than the reparation Of the bridge
form of application for such rights
xists, whose date is probably the early
century. 1t is as follows:
To our lord the king prays his vassal
VILLAIN of Latymer, lord of YARN that
e will grant him portage for five years
the bridge of YARN, which is broken
own, where men were wont to pass
it'll carts and with horses on the kings
lghway between the water of Tees to- !
ards Scotland May it please him to
} this for the soul Of Madame his con-
'rt, who is to God commended and for ;
lie common profit of the people who
ass" The application was granted.
The famous Devils Bridge of North :,
'ales, more accurately named the
ont -Mynach, was almost certainly z
lilt by the monks of Ystrad Ffiur; it d
ans the chasm with a single arch, :.
Re it's namesake Of the Gothard Pass.
he Parsons Bridge, two miles off, q
igfnally consisted of a mere tree
unk The common occurrence of >
'ont' in Welsh place names bespeaks =
plentiful supply of bridges, and in I
ed great need of them. Where y
idges were endowed. or kept in repair 6
means of taxes and dues, the result =
as often most satisfactory: but in
ses where the structure was erected
d then left to the wear and tear of a
ne, and to the mercy of the elements tt