Ripon's Bridges
The river Ure runs to the north and east of Ripon, the river Skell, once the southern boundary of the town, now runs through the southern part of the city, and the river Laver runs to the west of Ripon. In medieval times crossings were by ford or possibly by wooden structures.
North Bridge
Artist's impression of North Bridge looking from the north bank of the river Ure towards Ripon church (now the cathedral)
North bridge is thought to be Ripon's oldest stone bridge, built in the C13th. The challenge was to build a structure which would survive the river in flood. The crossing point chosen was upstream from the ford which had used an island in the Ure to split the ford into two sections. The ford may have had Roman origins and, on the south bank, joined Stammergate (now Magdalen's Road) to form the main route from the north into Ripon.
The bridge was built on seventeen arches and is over 200 metres long. Initially is was wide enough to take pedestrians and possibly a hay cart. Over the years it has been widened to take modern traffic, and much repaired. The initial bridge is thought to have been built with a chapel of St Sitha on its northern side which accepted donations and possibly collected tolls for the upkeep of the bridge. The chapel disappeared at some unknown date, possibly at the Reformation (mid C16th). In the days of the Ridings of Yorkshire north bridge crossed the boundary between North and West Riding and generated active debate about who was responsible for the upkeep of the bridge. It eventually fell to the West Riding until 1974 when the Ridings disappeared and North Yorkshire was created.
Ripon enclosure map, mid C19th, shows north bridge (left) and the route of the ford crossing to the right of it. The pathway from Magdalen's Road to the river is called North Bridge Green Road which stops on the far edge of the river island and is marked "Stammergate watering place". On the opposite bank where the ford would have ended is "North Bridge watering place". The map indicates the planned river crossing for the railway yet to be built. It dates the map to about 1846/7.
As we do today people prefered to walk the shortest route. Before the bridge was built the river crossing and Stammergate formed the direct route from the north to the church and into the town. However the bridge was built upstream from the ford so the river end of Stammergate (now Magdalen's Road) had to be diverted to link up with the bridge and that kink in the road remains today. However,the diversion was ignored and a new track was created by people walking straight from the bridge towards the town. That track became North Road replacing Stammergate as the main route from the north into the town.
Borrage Bridge
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Artist's impression of Borrage Bridge from the south bank of the river Skell, by Thomas Girton about 1800
The bridge has had various names over the years but has settled in recent times as borrage bridge. It carries the road from Harrogate across the river and was one of Ripon's early stone bridges. It is likely that the name derives from the merchants (burghers) who lived around the market square. Most of the burghers will have had land behind their houses but on the south side of the square the land behind the houses falls away and the owners had burghage plots along Borrage Green Lane, using the bridge the reach them. Did the burghers bridge evolve into Borrage Bridge and Borrage Lane? C14th wills contain references to gifts left by burghers for the repair of the bridge.
Artist's impression of Borrage Bridge crossing the river Skell from south to north.
George Parsons Norman, Suffolk artist 1840-1914
Chain Bridge or Archer bridge
Detail from "the south east prospect of Rippon" Samuel and Nathaniel Buck 1745
The bridge was for pedestrians to cross the river Skell into Ripon township from the township of Bondgate with Aismunderby. Sometimes called Archer bridge because it is thought archers from the church crossed the river to practice on Bondgate Green. The date the bridge was built is unknown but is likely to have linked the two townships from medieval times. It will have been a wooden bridge and is likely to have been replaced several times. On the 1856 map of Ripon it is called the "chain" bridge. Why would a medieval bridge refer to chains?
From the time of the Norman conquest the ruling class had been Norman/French. Normans are likely to have built the early bridge and used local oak to construct it. Their name for "oak" is chene or chesne. The locals, speaking a different language, may have interpreted that as "chain", pronouncing it as they heard it and this has come down to us over the years. (Locals did the same with St Anne's hospital next to the bridge on it's northern side. Built as the "maison de dieu" locals called it the "massingdew")
The building at the northern end of the bridge on the left is Thorp Prebend House with The Hall (now called Minster House and home of the Dean) behind it. The medieval hospital of St Anne on the right at the northern end of the bridge, is hidden by the trees. The church (now the cathedral) is top right and the top of the obelisk in the market square is top towards the left. The obelisk was built in 1702. On the far left, just above the trees, the building with the bell turret is possibly the Norman chapel of St John the Baptist on Bondgate., demolished in 1868.
The link between the bridge and High St Agnesgate was by a piece of roadway now mainly covered by the bandroom, built after the chain bridge was replaced with the stone built New Bridge in 1811, just upstream from the chain bridge. The new bridge carried pedestrians and vehicles.
Detail from Mr Beckwith's map of the common field lands of Rippon, Littlethorpe and Bondgate 1744.
The bridge in the centre of the map is Borrage (Borrish) Bridge but the map is drawn as if a ford for carts existed beside the bridge. Bondgate Bridge is to the right (under the V of RIVER) and the map shows the buildings along Bondgate including the Norman chapel beside the river. Further to the right (under the last R of RIVER) is the chain bridge for pedestrians arriving via Bondgate Green, with a ford beside it for wheeled traffic.
Mr Beckwith also marks the two mill races which supplied water to Ripon's mills. Top left is the mill race from High Clough which served three mills and entered the river Skell beside what is now New Bridge. The other (bottom right) served New Mill and rejoined the river a little further east.
Detail from the 1800 Humphries' map of Ripon. The Chain Bridge is marked crossing the river Skell (middle left) with Bondgate bridge above it. Bondgate Green, across Chain bridge in the township of Bondgate, is dotted in with the row of terraced houses and the old pub, the Brewers Arms, next to the river. These houses are still there although the pub has closed. There is no sign of a ford. The mill race from High Clough joins the Skell opposite the pub. The mill race served three mills one on Skellbank (where Hugh Ripley Hall stands), one at the bottom of Duck Hill and the other at the bottom of Bedern Bank.
New Bridge
New Bridge was built in 1811 and replaced the Chain Bridge. It accommodated wheeled traffic as well as pedestrians. The bridge now carries the Boroughbridge road out of Ripon towards Hewick Bridge over the river Ure.
Bondgate Bridge
A sketch of the old Bondgate bridge over the river Skell. The building far left is The Bricklayers Arms pub now demolished, and the chimney is part of the brewery. The house next to the pub is still there and may have been occupied by the manager of the brewery.
The stone bridge was demolished in the 1892 and replaced with a metal bridge
The new metal bridge which replaced the stone bridge in 1892. Hepworth's brewery is in the background. The "new" metal bridge is now subect to a weight restriction, unlike the stone bridges from around 700 years ago!
Plaque recording the opening of the bridge.
OPENED BY THE
MAYORESS OF RIPON
(MRS. SMITHSON)
FRIDAT THE28TH
OCTOBER 1892