2015
ST8260 : Bradford on Avon - The chapel on the bridge
taken 9 years ago, near to Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England
Bradford on Avon - The chapel on the bridge
The Chapel which is also known as the "Blind House" is set into the parapet of the Town Bridge in Bradford on Avon. It is approximately square in plan with four small windows and a narrow arched doorway accessible from the bridge. The bridge side has no windows, while the river side has two, and there are one on each other side. The roof is domed in steps and is surmounted by a heavy stone finial above which is a weather vane in the form of a fish, known as the "Bradford Gudgeon". This weather vane is gilt copper and dates from the C16th. The river side also sports a short chimney stack peeping out of the domed roof. Originally a chapel it has been used subsequently as lock-up and an ammunition store. The bridge (originally a Packhorse Bridge) dates from the C13th with two of the original arches surviving on the eastern side, but it was widened and largely rebuilt in the C17th. The chapel predates this rebuilding I believe, and may be as old as C14th/15th.
It is EH Grade I listed along with the bridge to which it is attached
Link (
Archive Link ) the whole forming a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Link (
Archive Link )
(Note the S.A.M. listing is scanty whereas the grading listing is more informative)
See also
ST8260 : Bradford on Avon - Bridge Chapel - The Blind House
Image classification
(about):
Geograph
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