Sepia photograph showing a multi-arched stone bridge with a central chapel structure spanning a river with boats moored nearby.

St Ives Bridge c.1907

St Ives Bridge and Chapel

History of the bridge and chapel

Listed Building

Circa 1415-26 replacing a wooden bridge of 1110. Barnach ashlar with brick parapet of circa 1716. 6 arches on piers with pointed cutwaters carried up to the parapets to form refuges. 4 original northern arches are pointed but the 2 semi-circular southern ones were rebuilt in 1716, replacing a Civil War drawbridge over the southernmost span.

Restored 1930. 2 storeys with splayed apse built over the enlarged middle pier on the eastern side.

15th century bridge crossing the River Ouse. Royal Archaeological Institute 1967 p.13 notes that the first bridge over the Ouse at St Ives was built about 1110. It was rebuilt in stone between 1415 and 1426. Four original northern arches are pointed, but two semi-circular southern ones were rebuilt in 1711. During the Civil Wars the southernmost arch was taken down and a drawbridge substituted.

The two storeyed Chapel of St Leodgar (Ledger) was consecrated in 1526. It was turned into an Inn in 1736 when two additional floors were added in red brick. These changes were removed in restoration in 1930.

Two architectural line drawings show the floor plan of a chapel and its basement, including labels for internal features.

St Ives Chapel (Royal Archaeological Institute)

A stone bridge with a central multi-storied brick building rising from its pier stands over a dark, rippling river.

St Ives bridge and chapel (MoC442/56)

View from the bow of a boat toward a historic stone bridge with multiple arches and a small square building built upon it.

St Ives Bridge (MoC)

A stone bridge with multiple arches spans a river, featuring a tall, narrow, two-story building rising from the central pier.

Bridge and Chapel, St Ives (MoC441/56)

A stone bridge with multiple arches spans a river, featuring a prominent chapel tower built directly above the central pier.

Bridge St Ives (Hunts Archives)

A sunset watercolour painting shows a stone bridge with a chapel in the centre spanning a river, flanked by riverside buildings.

A A Fraser St Ives bridge 1887

Watercolor painting of a snowy river scene in St Ives with a stone bridge, a chapel, figures on ice, and ducks near a boat.

F B Althaus, St Ives 1894

Watercolor painting of a stone bridge over a river with a chapel building situated on its center span amidst nearby houses.

St Ives Bridge, William Fraser Garden (1856-1921)

A watercolour drawing of a stone bridge with a central chapel spanning a wide river, flanked by trees and buildings.

St Ives bridge from east, William Fraser Garden (1856-1921)

A painting of a stone bridge and chapel beside a river, with red-brick houses and trees along the bank reflected in water.

St Ives bridge and chapel, William Fraser Garden (1856-1921)

Watercolor painting of St Ives Bridge with a central chapel tower, seen from a grassy riverbank under a cloudy sky.

W F Garden St Ives Bridge 1902

Watercolor painting showing a stone bridge and buildings behind small boats moored in a calm river under a cloudy sky.

Hubert Coop St Ives Bridge 1914

Watercolor drawing of a river with a stone bridge and chapel in the distance, reflected in the calm, sunlit water.

H Coop St Ives bridge date unknown

Impressionistic oil painting of an arched stone bridge with a central chapel, riverbank figures, and buildings under clouds.

W W Milne St Ives Bridge date unknown

Stone bridge with an integrated chapel structure spanning a wide river, with residential houses on the bank and ducks in water.

St Ives bridge and chapel (RGL2024)

A horse-drawn trap stands in a flooded street near the stone arches of a bridge, surrounded by figures and a dog in winter.

Winter 1890-1891, St Ives Bridge (Maddison & Hinde: HuntsRO)

River flows between trees on the left and a stone building with an outdoor terrace and parasols on the right under blue sky.

View north from St Ives Bridge (RGL2025)

A narrowboat is moored by a quay lined with historic buildings, with waterfowl swimming on the river in the foreground.

View south from St Ives Bridge (RGL2025)

For more information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Ives_Bridge

Projects

St Ives

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