A talk by Jeffrey Lucas on 11 November 2025.
Report by Stan Morrissey.
“We do take bridges for granted,” began Jeff Lucas, who gave us a fascinating exploration of the bridges crossing Bristol’s waterways. Bristol, he said, has 45 road, rail and foot bridges over its waterways that can be crossed on foot, ranging from Avonmouth in the West to St Annes in the East. To our relief, Jeff selected only a few of the bridges to discuss.
First of course is Bristol Bridge, the site of a Saxon crossing which gave Bristol its original name Brycgstow, meaning “the place of the bridge” and so where Bristol began. It expanded on higher ground almost surrounded by the Rivers Frome and Avon, a necessity for defence against Viking raids which, being eight miles upstream from the coast, were easy to detect. This first bridge was of timber and probably resembled other Saxon bridges with pointed arches.
As Bristol grew as a port, the bridge obstructed water traffic so, in a major engineering feat, the River Frome was diverted and the Pool of Bristol created. By the 1300s Bristol was the second city in England and the bridge had grown upwards by several stories, much like the old London Bridge. As late as the mid-1700s it was still the only bridge in Bristol but the need to expand it was apparent, and a design was drawn up by the appropriately-named James Bridges. Like many Bristol projects since, it took 10 years to complete due to arguments on its every aspect (nothing changes) but in 1768 Bristol had a much-needed new stone bridge. In the mid-1800s the Victorians “restored” the bridge and, in Jeff’s view, ruined it. Finally, in the 1970s, ornate balustrades were replaced by modern ones. This is the bridge we can see now, functional and still serving its original purpose, but not a thing of beauty.
As the port grew, more bridges became necessary. In 1809 came the second, some 800 years after the first, followed by another eleven. Between 1840 and 1906, nine were built to allow trains into the harbour area to carry goods to and from the ships moored there. From 1926 to present, another eight were added. Between 1841 and 1957 five ferries were replaced by bridges. More recently, nine “leisure” bridges have been built, for foot and cycle access only.
The Floating Harbour was built between 1804 and 1809 to overcome the restrictions imposed by the tide. Ships canted over at low tide, originating the phrase “shipshape and Bristol fashion” as all loose items had to be tidied away so they didn’t slide overboard. A new cut was made across a loop in the Avon and locks built on all exits so that ships could be moored in the now-tideless harbour and unloaded alongside quays. All this of course required improved access so many new bridges were built. Most were small and cheaply constructed with a fixed span over a new lock, though Bathurst Basin Bridge could be separated by pulling open two leaves. There were two larger cast iron bridges that copied the Iron Bridge design by Abraham Darby III of Coalbrookdale. Bedminster Bridge was built in 1883 and Bath Bridge in 1809; the latter was demolished by a steam barge in 1855 and replaced by a wrought iron version.
One late consequence of the age of the railway was the Ashton Avenue bridge of 1906, a unique double decker with a rail track below and road above; it was a swing bridge with a control tower, hydraulically powered from a pumping station at Underfall Yard. When it fell out of use, the road section was removed; it was last swung in 1934 but the bridge is still giving service because the track has been converted to a roadway for the Metrobus.
There were five ferries ultimately replaced by bridges, notably the Gaol Ferry which ran below Bristol Gaol and carried around 1000 people a week in a “rather precarious boat” running between muddy sloped banks. The replacement bridge was probably very welcome!
In 1985 the regeneration of Bristol waterways began as a leisure asset to the city and many new footbridges were built to provide accessible walks. Jeff highlighted the new footbridge at St Phillips close to Temple Meads which, to overcome a sloping site, has been built in a Y section with a slope rather than steps.
Jeff added to his narrative by describing two events in Bristol relating to bridges. One was the Bristol Bridge Massacre of 1793. The bridge originally had toll gates and booths, tolls being levied to pay for the rebuild and expected to be withdrawn after 25 years. However, when the time came to remove the gates, there was still outstanding debt so the toll was extended for another year. The people objected, the gates were burned down and attempts to reinstate them led to a riot. Soldiers were called in and on someone’s order they fired into the crowd; 40 people were killed and many injured. But no-one was ever identified as giving the order, there was no inquest and “no-one was to blame for this unfortunate occurrence”. Such was justice in those days.
The other event was in Great Bathurst Basin in 1888. A ketch moored there was carrying 300 barrels of naptha, a highly volatile, flammable liquid used in industry. Although there were laws prohibiting such chemicals being brought into the docks, there was no similar prohibition on goods being shipped out. The cargo caught fire and exploded, creating a column of smoke and steam visible across Bristol. Three of the four crewmen died; one survived with severe burns. There were surprisingly few other injuries. All the windows were blown out of the adjacent General Hospital and patients had to be evacuated. This is said to be the largest explosion ever in Bristol until the Second World War.
The 45 bridges have been linked together by Jeff Lucas and his colleague Dr Thilo Gross into a long-distance walk which takes you from the inner city to the sea and back again, crossing each bridge only once, an intriguing echo of a famous eighteenth-century mathematical puzzle about the bridges of Königsberg (look it up!).
Details are in the book From Brycgstow to Bristol in 45 Bridges which Jeff wrote with Thilo. There is a Facebook group The Bristol Bridges Walk Challenge from which you can download walking, cycling and mobility scooter instructions, a map and a gpx file – all free (click on the Files tab on the homepage). A commemorative badge is available (£3) for those active enough to complete the walk.
Jeff was loudly applauded for his interesting talk. It will be interesting to know how many people take up his walking challenge and cover all 45 bridges.