B R I
B R I
BRIDEMIF, in the Pcrfian tables, the conftellation Lupus, or the wolf. IVolf. Lex. Math. p. 272. Vital. Lex. Math. p. 88. Seethe article Lupus, CjcU
BRIDEWELL, in our cuftoms, denotes a work-houfe, partly for the correction of vagrants, and partly for the employment of the parifh poor.
Bridewell^ near Fleet-ditch, is a foundation of a mixt and lin- gular nature, partaking both of the hofpital, the prifon, and work-houfe; "it was founded in 1553 by Edward VI. who gave the place where king John had formerly kept his court, and which had been repaired by Henry VIII. to the city ot London, with 700 merks of land, bedding, and other furni- ture. Vid. New View of London, fee. 6. T. 2. p. 733»
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BRIDGE (Cyi7.)— Among the Romans, the building and re- pairing of bridges was firft committed to the pontifices, or pricfts ; then to the cenfors, and curators of the roads; laftly, the emperors took the care of bridges into their own hands. Thus Antoninus Pius built the Pons Janiculenfls of marble; Gordian reftored the Pons Ceftius; and Hadrian built a new one, denominated from him. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 2. p. 460. In the middle age, bridge-building was ranked in the number of acts of religion ; and a regular order of hofpitallers was founded by St. Benezet, towards the clofe of the twelfth cen- tury, under the denomination of pontifices, or bridge-builders ; whofe chief object was to be afliftant to travellers, by making bridges, fettling ferries, and receiving ffrangers in hofpitals, or houfes built on the banks of rivers. But the order was too good to thrive. We read of one hofpital of the kind at Avignon, where the hofpitallers dwelt under the direction of their firft fuperior, St. Renezet. The jefuit Raynaldus has a treatife ex- prefs on St. John the bridge-builder. Sec Ht'lyot. Hift. desOrd. Monaft. T. z. c. 42, Trev. Diet. Univ. T. 4. App. p. 22. voc. Pontife.
The building and repairing of bridges, was one of thofe fer- vices to which all orders and ranks were fubject a ; though the clergy have fometimes got exemptions from it b . — [^DuCange, Glofl". Lat. T. 4. p. 344. voc. Pons. b Bingh. Orig. Ecclef. 1. 5. c. 3. §. 9.] See the article Pontage, CycL The ftrudfure of the Roman bridges is bell: described by Ber- gier; they confifted of pi la, or piers; fomices, or arches ; fub- lices, or hutments ; pavimenta, and agger es ; the roads over them in the middle for carriages ; on each fide whereof decur- foria, or banquettes, fomewhat higher than the reft for foot- pafTengers, and feparated from it by a fponda, or rail, and fometimes even covered over, to fhelter paflengers from the rain, as in the Pons iElius. Berg. Hift. des Chem. 1. 4. feet. 35, §. r, 10, 11. Pitifc, Lex. Antiq. T. 2. p. 460. voc. Pontes.
The Trajan bridge over the Danube, was the moft magnificent of all the works of this kind in the world c . It was erected by that emperor for the conveniency of fending fuccours to the Roman legions on the other fide the Danube, in cafe they fhould be fuddenly attacked by the Daci ; but demolifhed by the next fucceflbr Hadrian, for fear the Barbarians, overpower- ing the guards fet to defend it, mould, by means of it, pour into Mcelia, and cut off the garrifons there; or rather, as fome think, out of envy, as defpairing ever to do any thing like it himfelf. The ruins of it are ftill feen in the middle of the Danube, near the city Warhel in Hungary d . It confifted of twenty arches, each one hundred and fifty feet from pier to pier, and one hundred and fifty feet high, and the piers fifty feet thick; its whole length was feven furlongs; which is more than four times the length of London bridge c . — [ c Dio .1. 68. p. 776- d Berg. 1. 4 feet. 38. §. 8. Cafal. de Urb. & Imper. Roman. Splend. P. 1. c. 15. Lipf. de Magn. Rom. i. 3. c. 1 3. Thyf, de Masrnit. Rom. 1. 3. p. 306. Pitifc. loc. tit. p. 464. e Havokfm. Hift. London Bridge, p. 29, feq.] Modern architects are abfolutely at a lofs to conceive how the foundations of fuch a bridge could be laid in fo vaft and rapid a river, and fo deep a channel as the Danube. Scamozzi ima- gines that the river muft have been turned out of its courfe. But to divert the Danube feems impoflible. That author con- jectures, that choice was made of fome fhort bend of the ri- ver, where it made almoft a peninfula, and a canal was cut crofs the ifthmus or neck thereof, through which the river took its courfe; fo that the bridge was built on dry land, and, when finifhed, the river was returned to its antient channel. Id. c. 30.
In France, the Pont de Garde is a very bold work ; the piers being only thirteen feet thick, yet ferving to fupport an im- menfe weight of a triplicated arcade, and ferves to join two mountains. It confifts of three bridges one over another ; the uppermoft of which is an aqueduct. Berg. 1. 4. feet. 57 §-2.
Thebridge of Avignon was begun in the year 1 176, and finifh- ed in 1 1 88; confifting of eighteen arches, meafuring 1340 paces in length, or about 500 fathoms ; divers of its arches have been fince demolifhed by the ice, iffc. fo that only part of it now fubfifts,
The bridge of St. Efprit is the fineft and boldeft in France, con- fifting of nineteen great arches, befides feven fmaller ones, the apertures of the arches being from fifteen to twenty fathoms,
which makes the length of the bridge upwards of four hundred fathoms. Hawkfm. lib. cit. p. 34, feq. The Trajan-/>r*<a(g?, at Salamanca, over the river Formus, po- pularly attributed to the giants, by fome to Hercules, appears rather to be a Roman work, though when and by whom erec- ted, is not known ; but it was repaired by Trajan, whofe de- nomination it ftill bears ; it is 1500 feet long, confifts of 26 arches, each 72 feet wide, the piers that fuftain them being 23 feet thick, and 200 high. Berg. 1, 4. fee. 38. §. z. Pitifc. lib. cit. p. 464.
In England are London bridge, the bridge at York, whofe maf- ter arch in the middle is 82 feet and a half in the clear wide, and 27 feet high. Rochefter bridge is built in the fame ftyle with that of London, only better, in that the arches are wider, and that there are no houfes on it ; it is 550 feet long, and confifts of 1 1 arches, the biggeft of which is more than 40 feet. The bridgesat Durham and Biftiop-Awkland, whofe largeft arches are near go feet in the clear. The bridge at Berwick is an admirable work, begun under queen Elizabeth ; it confifts of 17 arches, the largeft upwards of 80 feet. The bridge at Newcaftle, lately built, having one bold arch, 120 feet in the clear. That of Blenheim confifts of three arches, the chief of which fpans 101 feet and a half. Hawkfm. lib. cit. p. 41, feq.
The longeft bridge in England is that over the Trent at Lurton, built by Bernard abbot of Burton, in the 1 2th century ; it is all of fquared free-ftone, ftrong and lofty, 1545 feet in length, and confifting of 34 arches f . Yet this comes far fhort of the wooden bridge over the Drave, which, according to Dr. Brown, is at leaft five miles long *. — [ i Plott, Nat. Hift. of Stafford, c. 9. §.72. p-372- s Broivn, Trav. Hung. p. 5. Plott, loc. cit.]
London bridge confifts of 20 locks or arches, whereof 19 are open, and one filled up or obfeured ; it is 9CO feet long, 60 high, and 74 broad, having a draw-bridge in the middle, and almoft 20 feet aperture in each arch h . It is fupported by 18 piers or folids, from 34 to 25 feet thick ; fo that the greateft water-way, when the tide is above the fterlings, is 430 feet, fcarce half the width of the river; and below the fterlings, the water-way is reduced to 194 feet. Thus a river 900 feet wide, is here forced through a channel of 1 94 feet i .— [ h New View of London, feet. 7. T. 2. p. 790. i Hawkfm. ubi fupra, p. 9. J London bridge was firft built of timber, fome time before the year 994, by a college of priefts, to whom the profits of the ferry of St, Mary Overy's had defcended ; it was repaired, or rather new built of timber, in 1163 k . The ftone-iW^was begun by king Henry II. in 11 76, and finifhed under king John in the year 1209. The architect was Peter of Cole- church, aprieft ] . — [ k Stow, ap. New View ofLond. feet:. 7. p. 790. 1 Hawkfm. ubi fupra, p. 6.]
For the charge of keeping it in repair, a large houfe is allotted, with a great number of offices, and a vaft revenue in land, &e. The chief officers are two bridge-mailers, chofen yearly out of the body of the livery. Cbamberl. Pref. State Gr. Br. P. 1. 1. 3. c. 10. p. 271.
The foundation is faid to be on a foft oozy ground. Stow al- leges, that, during the time of building, the river was turned from Batterfea to Rotherhith ; but this is not warranted. Some imagine, that the tide did not then rife fo high at the bridge as it does now, by which the work would be facilitated. However this be, the piers were erected on wooden piles driven under wa- ter, over which planks were laid, and the feet of the piers on the planks. The defects of this bridge are the narrownefs and irregularity of the arches, and the largenefs of the piers, which, together with the fterlings, turn the current of the Thames in- to many frightful cataracts, which much obftrudt and endanger the navigation through the bridge ; to which may be added, the narrownefs of the bridge above, occafioned by the houfes built on it. 'Tis pretty certain, there were no houfes on the bridge for upwards of 2co years ; fince we read of a tilt and tourna- ment held on it in 1395. Hawkfm. lib. cit. p. 10. The fterlings have been added, to hinder the piers from being undermined by the rotting of the piles upon which they are built; for, by means of thefe fterlings, the piles are kept con- ftantly wet ; and thus the timber is kept from decaying, which always happens when it is alternately wet and dry. ( One of the nobleft bridges known is that at Weftminfter. The breadth of the river Thames, between the Wool-ftaple dock and the oppofite fhore, the place where the bridge is built, is about 1220 feet. The bridge confifts of 13 large arches, and two fmaller ones, the 14 intermediate piers, and two abut- ments.
The length of each abutment is 7 6 feet ; the fpan or opening of each of the fmall arches of the abutments is 25 feet ; the opening or fpan of the firft of the large arches from each fhore is 5 2 feet ; the fpan of the next arch is 5 6 feet, and fo on, increafing by four feet in every arch to the middle arch, the fpan of which is 76 feet. The tranfverfe fection, or breadth of the two firft piers on each fide, is 12 feet; of the next 1 3, and fo on, to the piers fupporting the middle arch, the fection of each of which is feventeen feet. Thus the length of the two abutments being 152 feet, the fection of the 14 piers 198 feet, and the fpan or opening of the 15 arches
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