Blagdon Local History Society
From Brycgstow to Bristol in 45 Bridges
Jeff Lucas began by explaining how his book – subject of this talk – came about. There is the history of Bristol from its foundation in Saxon times and its original name Bricgstow, which in Anglo-Saxon or Old English literally means ‘place by the bridge.’ Then there is the longstanding mathematical puzzle, "The Konigsberg Bridge Problem", originally posed in the Prussian city of that name around the year 1700. There is a connection because both cities are built on waterways with river islands and many bridges. The question in 1700 was: ‘Is it possible to walk over all the bridges in Konigsberg (numbering seven in total) crossing each one once and only once—not crossing any bridge twice?’ A prominent mathematician, Leonard Euler, was asked to solve the problem in 1736—he proved that it all depended on the number and location of the bridges. For Königsberg, he showed it was not possible.
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Some of the seven bridges of Konigsberg
We now flash forward to 21st Century Bristol. A certain Dr Thilo Gross comes to Bristol in 2011 to teach Engineering Mathematics at Bristol University. He is struck by its similarity to Könisberg and when he mentions this in his lectures he is challenged by a student to show whether an ‘Euler Walk’ was possible in Bristol. Dr Gross did not take long in showing that the walk was possible and he ‘walked the walk’ in 2013. At that time Bristol had 43 bridges.
(Right) Jeff Lucas and Dr Thilo Goss with the newly published book: Brycgstowe to Bristol in 45 Bridges
(Below) Bristol Bridge from which the name of Bristol has evolved. In fact the bridge itself has changed and evolved quite considerably throughout the centuries
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Jeff Lucas now comes on the scene. A short Bristol Post article on Dr Gross's bridges walk fascinated him and so he met Dr Gross and got his agreement that Jeff would write a book based on the walk. Jeff produced a map of the walk for Bristol Civic Society which he subsequently expanded into his book, with a description of the history, design and engineering of each of the 45 bridges that Bristol now has that span its main waterways and which can be crossed on foot.
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The Bristol Bridges walk is circular and can be started at any point along the 28 mile / 45k route; in the space available here, it makes sense to feature Bristol Bridge. The Saxon town of Bricgstow developed on a ridge of high ground between the Avon and Frome rivers (where the Galleries shopping centre is now) and became entered by four gates. One was accessed by the first bridge in Bristol which spanned the river Avon.
Not surprisingly, the bridge has been rebuilt and modified several times over the centuries as traffic increased. The arches of the medieval bridge looked something like Barford Bridge in Bedfordshire today. In the 1300s two additional sets of arches were added parallel to each side of the original bridge to gain an extra 40 feet in width. This allowed for buildings on the bridge going up to six storeys - like the old London Bridge. Due to increasing traffic leading to a lot of accidents, a bridge committee was set up in 1758 to solve the problem. The aptly named James Bridges drew up plans for a new stone bridge, which took 10 years to get built. These are the stone arches we see today. Tolls were levied to pay for it. In Victorian times, the bridge was widened and the stone balustrades were replaced with decorative cast iron. The extra width of the road was supported by adding steel columns in classical style, visible in the photo taken by Jeff Lucas. The Victorian cast iron balustrades were replaced by plain steel railings in the 1960's.
The book is £20, published by Bristol Books and available post-free from their website or from booksellers in Bristol. You can also get a signed copy post-free directly from Jeff - email jeff@redted.org.uk.
It is very worthwhile doing a Google search and if possible investing in the time to go on at least some of the walk. The walk instructions and a map can be downloaded free from the Bristol Books website here Bristol Books Website
You can find interesting news, comments, photos and background to the walk from the Bristol Bridges Walk Facebook Group here: The Bristol Bridges Walk Challenge Group
Addendum
Königsberg is now called Kaliningrad, in the Kaliningrad Oblast, situated on the Baltic Sea. It is part of the Russian Federation, and an unusual geographical "exclave", since its land border is completely surrounded by two European Union and NATO members Poland and Lithuania.