Old Dee Bridge
| Old Dee Bridge | |
|---|---|
Old Dee Bridge
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| Coordinates | 53°11′08″N 2°53′19″W / 53.185506°N 2.888718°W |
| Carries | Bridge Street (vehicles and pedestrians) |
| Crosses | River Dee |
| Locale | Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Heritage status | Grade I |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Material | Sandstone |
| No. of spans | 7 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | None |
The Old Dee Bridge in Chester, Cheshire, England, is the oldest bridge in the city. It crosses the River Dee carrying the road that leads from the bottom of Lower Bridge Street and the Bridgegate to Handbridge. A bridge on this site was first built in the Roman era, and the present bridge is largely the result of a major rebuilding in 1387. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is a scheduled monument.
The original bridge was built for the Romans and probably had stone piers carrying a timber carriageway. This seems to have disappeared by the 10th century, as in the reign of Queen Æthelflæd of Mercia (AD 911–918) there was only a ferry.
A bridge had been built by 1086, when the Domesday Book records that the Provost of Chester Castle could summon a man from every hide of land in Cheshire to rebuild Chester's walls and bridge. The bridge was reached by a causeway, which according to a manuscript in the Harleian Collection was built for Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester (died 1101) along with watermills on the Dee at that point.
The bridge was repaired in the next two centuries but in 1279–80 the timber superstructure was swept away. Further repairs were made by Sir Thomas de Ferrers, Justice of Chester in about 1347–49 and by Stephen de Merton in the 1350s.
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