Photographs of the Bridges
Bridges of Chester, England
The River Dee in Chester, Cheshire, England is home to three beautiful and historically important bridges, making for a good day of bridgespotting.
The Grosvenor Bridge was officially opened in 1832 by Princess Victoria, then 13 years old and not to become Queen Victoria for another five years. The bridge crosses the River Dee on a single stone arch that was, at 200 feet long, the widest single stone arch in the world when it was constructed. The bridge is constructed of sandstone blocks of colors ranging from beige to light red, giving the bridge a pink hue when viewed from a distance. The arch is anchored on each end by an enormous stone buttress, and the facing of both the buttresses and the spandrel are decorated by stones set in various depths of relief. The buttresses have large open niches that look as if they once housed statues, and which are topped by a series of columns and a pediment. The triangular shape of the closed spandrel is outlined with reddish, horizontal stones set in three depths of relief, and the arch ring is outlined in lighter-colored stone set parallel to the curve of the arch.
The medieval Old Dee Bridge is deep red in color and looks ancient. Bridges have crossed at this location since the Romans built the city walls, and the current bridge was constructed in 1387, making it more than 630 years old. The weathering of the red sandstone blocks has caused the individual blocks to stand out in relief, and also highlights the cross-bedding in the sandstone.
The original Queens Park Suspension Bridge was constructed in 1852 to connect the new residential suburb of Queens Park, south of the river, to the city center on the north. The bridge was found to be unsafe and was replaced by the current pedestrian-only suspension bridge, in 1923. The suspension towers of the bridge are a riot of decorative steel shapes and arrangements, applied decorations such as brightly colored coats of arms, and towers topped with golden orbs. The entrances to the bridge pass through arch-shaped portals that provide bracing to the open-lattice suspension towers. The center of each of the portal braces is filled with a brightly colored coat of arms, cast in lead, set within a wreath, and listing the names and dates of rule of seven of the Earls of Chester from 1070 to 1231. The wreaths are brightly painted in green and red, with the names and dates provided in raised lettering painted in gold. The coat of arms itself is in the form of a shield, topped with a crown. In each case, the crown is painted in bright gold. The shields vary, with some displaying a rampant lion, others displaying a wolf (for Hugh Lupus, of course), and still others displaying sheaves of wheat. All of the shields are brightly painted in deep gold, red, and/or blue. Several other panels on the portals and the sides of the suspension towers display similar brightly colored cast-lead decorations. Although the decorations were originally applied more than 100 years ago, they were restored in 2013. The bridge structure itself is painted gray, making the brightly-painted decorations stand out.
I have included a description of a tour of the bridges of Chester in Chapter 9 of my book, Bridgespotting Part 2: A Guide to Even More Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times.
