St John’s Bridge was a fortified bridge in Lechlade, Gloucestershire. Constructed around 1228, it was maintained by the local Hospital of St John, and then by the local manor. It was pulled down in 1831 to make way for a new bridge.
History
St John’s Bridge was constructed around 1228 to cross the River Thames, linking Gloucestershire and London, replacing a ferry crossing, close to the same site. It was maintained by the Hospital of St John of the Baptist, which was established by Isabel de Mortimer and Peter FitzHerbert on the north side of the bridge. As the lords of the manor of Lechlade, de Mortimer and FitzHerbert collected tolls from barges passing along the river, and the weirs were used to farm fish and eels.
The bridge was made from stone, with four arches and a long causeway leading away from it on the south side of the river. Henry III authorised FitzHerbert to build a gatehouse on the southern side of the bridge.
The hospital was dissolved in 1472, and around 1520 some of its masonry was used to repair the bridge. Prolonged arguments between the owners of the manor and bargemen about the river toll occurred in the late 17th and early 18th century, at one point leading to the river being blocked by a chain. In 1791, a new cut was made in the river by the Thames Commissioners, circumventing the bridge.
Throughout its life, persuading first the hospital, and later the owner of the Lechlade manor, to maintain the bridge had proved difficult. The cases had often come to court. By 1831, the condition of the now decrepit medieval bridge was proving a immediate problem.
An extended, and expensive, law case ensued between the county and the local landowner, George Milward about who should pay for the repairs, which was ultimately inconclusive. The county agreed to take on the work, and the bridge was pulled down and rebuilt. Further work was carried out in 1884 and 1899, and no remains of the 1228 bridge survives. The gatehouse may have survived until at least 1716, but has also been lost.
Bibliography
- Herbert, N. M. (ed) (1981) A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 7, ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Madden F., Bulkeley, B., and J. G. Nichols, J.G. (1834) Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica Volume 1. London, UK: John Bower Nichols.
- Tucker, Joan. (2013) Ferries of the Upper Thames. Stroud, UK: Amberley Press.
Attribution
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