30:
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In 1652, Wich Bridge was described as lying on "y greatest & most frequented Road within this County", and it was designated a county bridge on 27 April 1652. This meant that the county was responsible for its maintenance, but also that
Nantwich had to pay towards the maintenance of the other
177:
toll was levied per cartload, with goods destined for military use being exempt. The bridge appears to have survived the fire of 1583, which started nearby and destroyed much of the town to the east of the river. In 1622, William Webb writes:
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Wilbraham commissioned local mason, Tim Adams, to build the bridge, starting in July 1663; it was complete by the beginning of July of the following year. The county contributed £90 towards its cost, together with 20 marks (£13
182:
A strong timber bridge over the stream of the Weever is maintained by the town, which requires no little care and cost, by reason of the monstrous carriages of the wood in carts which is brought thither for the boiling of their
224:) to pave the bridge and the road on either side. Wilbraham writes that "My little boy, a Twin of 2 years old, was the first corpse that was carried over the new Bridge the begin of July 1664."
158:, which dates from around 1350. A priest would have said prayers for the safety of travellers on payment of a fee. The fate of St Ann's Chapel is unknown, but it is not mentioned in records of
243:
The existing stone bridge was built in 1803 by local mason, William
Lightfoot. By the 1880s the official name on Government Survey Maps had changed to the Welsh Bridge. The single arch has a
138:
The first references to a bridge in the town occur in documents of 5 January 1398–9 and 1438–9. Known as the Wich Bridge (also Wiche or Wych), it was a timber structure on which stood
738:
208:. Anxious to avoid the town having to pay for its repair despite 12 years of contributing to other county bridges, Wilbraham and others successfully petitioned the
151:
753:
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road meant that the crossing would have seen heavy use from the medieval era, including by soldiers en route to Wales and later
Ireland. The opening of
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in which groups of balusters alternate with solid stone blocks. The bridge was repaired in the 21st century and some of the balusters were replaced.
773:
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684:
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was diverted away from Welsh Row and the triple-arched Sir Thomas
Fairfax Bridge was constructed to the north of the Welsh Row bridge.
748:
432:
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628:
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427:
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205:
606:
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200:, the bridge was described by Roger Wilbraham as "in decay". Wilbraham was a prominent Nantwich resident who lived at
165:
The bridge was originally maintained and repaired by the town. Tolls were levied on goods passing through the town as
139:
118:
wooden causeway running beneath the modern street was also uncovered. The town's location on the main London to
455:
201:
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road, an important transport route, and the bridge was heavily used for trade and military purposes from the
111:
64:, England. The existing bridge replaces a 17th-century stone bridge; it dates from 1803 and is listed at
49:
197:
72:
is first mentioned at the end of the 14th century; it is described as having a chapel and shops on it.
258:
It remained the main road bridge crossing the Weaver within the town until the 21st century, when the
209:
142:
and four shops. Medieval chapels built on bridges also existed in other
Cheshire towns, including
621:
A History of the Town and Parish of
Nantwich, or Wich Malbank, in the County Palatine of Chester
370:
664:
639:
624:
602:
423:
309:
29:
279:
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717:
574:
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Nantwich, Saxon to
Puritan: A History of the Hundred of Nantwich, c 1050 to c 1642
212:
for the construction of "a substantiall Bridge of Stone" at the county's expense.
273:
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699:
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county bridges, a charge from which the town had previously been exempt.
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150:. Few bridge chapels now survive in Britain, but a good example is the
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614:
Nantwich in the 18th
Century: A Study of 18th Century Life and Affairs
173:
for the maintenance of the bridge and road; in 1282, for example, a ½
170:
33:
The present
Nantwich Bridge (viewed from the south) dates from 1803.
99:
to the south of the existing bridge, near the probable site of the
28:
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By 1742, the new bridge had again become dilapidated, and £9 19
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resulted in a decline in travel via this route from the 1830s.
114:
was found during excavations by the existing bridge in 2007. A
428:"Chapel of St Mary on east side of Wakefield Bridge (1258242)"
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at the road level. The bridge is finished with a stone
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of 1545, and had presumably closed before that date.
654:
Archaeology in
Nantwich: Crown Car Park Excavations
367:Nantwich Museum: The Home of the Town's History
314:"Nantwich Bridge (over River Weaver) (1373917)"
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110:trackway running at an angle to the course of
8:
567:"Sir Thomas Fairfax Bridge Wins Two Awards!"
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739:Transport infrastructure completed in 1664
363:"Photo Gallery ... on the Welsh Row finds"
204:on Welsh Row; he later endowed the town's
573:, Cheshire County Council, archived from
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68:. An earlier timber bridge known as the
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754:Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire
734:Bridges completed in the 17th century
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7:
759:Buildings and structures in Nantwich
601:(Johnson & Son Nantwich; 1972) (
152:Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin
724:Stone bridges in the United Kingdom
676:Nantwich: A Brief History and Guide
661:The Buildings of England: Cheshire
433:National Heritage List for England
319:National Heritage List for England
25:
369:, Nantwich Museum, archived from
623:(2nd edn) (E. J. Morten; 1972) (
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75:Nantwich lay on the main London–
616:(Cheshire County Council; 1978)
571:Cheshire County Council website
196:By 1663, a few years after the
774:1664 establishments in England
769:Former toll bridges in England
460:, Cathedral Communications Ltd
1:
744:Demolished bridges in England
556:Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 289
91:The earliest crossing of the
48:) is a stone bridge carrying
288:Listed buildings in Nantwich
83:era until the 19th century.
198:Restoration of the monarchy
790:
638:(Shiva Publishing; 1983) (
636:The Great Fire of Nantwich
749:Bridges completed in 1803
235:was spent on its repair.
764:Grade II listed bridges
663:(Penguin Books; 1971) (
393:Lake, pp. 5, 30–31, 132
126:'s road from London to
659:Pevsner N, Hubbard E.
185:
34:
656:(Bemrose Press; 1978)
210:Justices of the Peace
32:
239:Stone bridge of 1803
192:Stone bridge of 1664
729:Bridges in Cheshire
696: /
535:Garton, 1978, p. 57
477:Garton, 1972, p. 24
339:Stevenson, pp. 2, 4
40:(also known as the
700:53.0676°N 2.5245°W
577:on 19 January 2008
499:Hall, pp. 196, 208
206:Widows' Almshouses
35:
44:and formerly the
16:(Redirected from
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705:53.0676; -2.5245
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42:Welsh Row Bridge
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56:in the town of
38:Nantwich Bridge
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134:Timber bridge
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579:, retrieved
575:the original
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547:Hall, p. 236
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517:Hall, p. 125
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504:
473:
462:, retrieved
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449:
437:. Retrieved
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418:
375:, retrieved
371:the original
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323:. Retrieved
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93:River Weaver
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54:River Weaver
46:Welsh Bridge
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37:
36:
26:
703: /
352:, pp. 12–14
70:Wich Bridge
18:Wich Bridge
718:Categories
688:53°04′03″N
612:Garton E.
607:0950273805
597:Garton E.
294:References
253:balustrade
249:modillions
95:was via a
87:Background
691:2°31′28″W
581:19 August
464:19 August
454:Green E,
439:11 August
377:19 August
325:11 August
156:Wakefield
148:Stockport
144:Congleton
112:Welsh Row
52:over the
50:Welsh Row
634:Lake J.
619:Hall J.
266:See also
128:Holyhead
116:medieval
81:medieval
66:grade II
62:Cheshire
58:Nantwich
592:Sources
245:cornice
167:pontage
124:Telford
120:Chester
77:Chester
678:(1994)
667:
651:et al.
642:
627:
605:
350:et al.
171:pavage
104:castle
101:Norman
183:salt.
108:Roman
665:ISBN
640:ISBN
625:ISBN
603:ISBN
583:2010
466:2010
441:2012
379:2010
327:2012
260:A534
169:and
146:and
106:. A
97:ford
154:in
720::
569:,
540:^
482:^
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398:^
386:^
365:,
316:.
312:.
301:^
60:,
671:)
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631:)
609:)
443:.
329:.
233:d
231:6
229:s
222:d
220:8
218:s
216:6
175:d
20:)
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