Prince Street Bridge

Prince Street Bridge

The bridge swinging with the pumping house and accumulator tower in the background
Coordinates 51°26′55″N 2°35′48″W / 51.4487°N 2.5968°W / 51.4487; -2.5968Coordinates: 51°26′55″N 2°35′48″W / 51.4487°N 2.5968°W / 51.4487; -2.5968
Carries Road
Crosses Bristol Harbour
Owner Bristol City Council
Heritage status Grade II listed building
Characteristics
Material Iron
Trough construction Riveted steel plates
History
Construction end 1879
Closed 2015

Prince Street Bridge is a swing bridge across Bristol Harbour. It is now Grade II listed.[1] The bridge carries a road from Prince Street to Wapping Road and is located between the Arnolfini art centre and M Shed museum.

The iron swing bridge was built in 1879 on the site of the ancient Gib ferry owned by the Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral. It replaced a previous bridge built in 1809.[2][3] In the 19th century tolls were charged for traffic over the bridge,[4] with the toll house being burnt during the Bristol Riots of 1831.[5][6][7]

The swing bridge is operated by water hydraulic power provided by the adjacent engine house and accumulator tower.[8]

Repair work which commenced in August 2015 was expected to cost £400,000, however initial surveys found the corrosion was worse than initially expected and could now cost £1.2million.[9] Some pressure groups have called for the bridge to be closed to cars permanently, allowing only cyclists and pedestrians to use it.[10]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Street Bridge.
  1. ↑ "Prince Street Bridge". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "Application for Listed Building Consent in Relation to Prince Street Bridge, Bristol" (PDF). Bristol City Council. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Prince Street Bridge". Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Large, David (1984). The Port of Bristol, 1848-1884. Bristol Record Society. pp. 93–94.
  5. ↑ "Bristol Riots: Burning Toll House on Prince Street Bridge". Art UK. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Nicholls, J. F.; Taylor, John. "The 1831 Uprising – Part 2: The Uprising". Bristol Radical History Group. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Riots at Bristol". Spectator. 5 November 1831. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Prince Street Bridge Engine House and Accumulator Tower". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Bristol's Prince Street Bridge repair costs treble". BBC. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Onions, Ian (5 September 2015). "Pressure groups call for permanent closure of Prince Street Bridge". Bristol Post. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
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