THE
P RTAL
May 2013
Page 11
The Chapel on the Bridge
by Eliza Treblecock
Among the
more unusual pieces of Catholic history in England are four medieval chapels built on
bridges. Recently I visited the one at Saint Ives in Cambridgeshire, or Huntingdonshire as it once was. The
other three are at Wakefield, Rotherham and Bradford-upon-Avon.
The Great Ouse meanders through this part of
England at a leisurely pace. It has caused flooding and
a load of trouble for those who live hereabouts. For
more than a thousand years there seems to have been
a crossing point near present day Saint Ives. At this
point alone, the river was shallow enough for there to
be a ford. The settlement we know as Saint Ives was
called “Slepe”, a Saxon word meaning “muddy”. Saint Leger, Ledger or Leodegarius. He was Bishop of
Autun in France in the 7th century and a few English
churches are dedicated to his name including one at
Ashby St Ledgers in Northamptonshire. Saint Ledger
is also used as a surname, hence the horse race, the St
Ledger, which is named after its inventor, one Colonel
St Ledger.
a wooden bridge The present stone bridge was built in the early 15th
century. We know from documentary evidence that
the Altar for the Chapel on the 15th century stone
bridge was consecrated in 1426. Experts say that
the architecture of the present bridge supports this
evidence.
A bridge seems to have been built over the river
at about the same time as the Market began and the
beginning of the shrine of Saint Ivo displaying the
remains of the supposedly recently discovered saint.
Quickly the settlement developed into a prosperous
town. The ford appears to have been replaced by a
wooden bridge for it is referred to in a document of
Ramsey Abbey in 1107.
15th century stone bridge
toll collecting building
But why build a bridge with a chapel? The area of the
country known as Saint Ives town was, at that time, in
Saint Leger
the control of Ramsey Abbey. They charged tolls on
By 1251 Ramsey Abbey documents were referring to people using the bridge to pay for its upkeep and repairs.
“Bridge Street” in Saint Ives, clear evidence of a bridge The chapel was part of the toll collecting building. The
there. This wooden bridge would appear to have had present chapel has two nic hes either side of the door
a chapel as part of its structure, a chapel dedicated to indicating that they were for the collection of tolls.