Before the stone bridge St Ives has long been an important religious and agricultural centre. As the town is located on the north side of the
River Great Ouse, it was necessary for London-bound travel to cross the river. At first this was achieved by means of a
ford, probably dating back well over a thousand years. The river was at that time much wider and much shallower. The settlement that became St Ives, at first known as Slepe, was developed by the Abbot of
Ramsey Abbey, probably Ednoth, who had founded the Priory of St Ivo there about AD 1000. In the year 1110 they obtained a Royal Charter from
King Henry I authorising them to hold an annual fair in the town. They built the town's first bridge, a wooden structure, in 1107. However the terrain on the south side was a marshy flood plain, according to Flanagan a
causeway was made to traverse it: It can be deduced that, at St Ives, the causeway comprised small bridges over the natural watercourses within the meadow, and for the rest of its length in between the bridges, there was a raised earth embankment which may have had a covering of stones or brushwood.
The stone bridge The wooden bridge required considerable maintenance, and in 1414 it was decided to replace it with a stone
arch bridge; the work was carried out between 1415 and 1426. It was built with six arches of limestone from
Barnack, quarried about 30 miles away on the
River Welland near
Peterborough. In the year of completion, a chapel on one pier of the bridge was added; it was dedicated to
St Leger, sometimes spelt Ledger, or Leodegarius. The purpose of this and other bridge chapels was to allow travellers to pray or to give thanks for a safe journey.
Civil war partial destruction, decay, and rebuilding During the
English Civil War,
Cavalier forces loyal to the king were massing in Bedfordshire, and the
roundhead forces, following
Oliver Cromwell, needed to defend Cambridge. The roundheads partially demolished the bridges over the River Great Ouse at St Ives,
St Neots and
Huntingdon, replacing the demolished spans with drawbridges. At St Ives the two arches on the southern side were demolished, and a drawbridge was installed in 1645. The drawbridge remained in use until 1716, when the demolished spans were reinstated by the Duke of Manchester, who had inherited the ownership of the bridge. When the bridge was partially rebuilt that year, the shape of the new arches was different from the original ones, so that the bridge has two rounded arches on its south side, and two
Gothic arches on the north. The northern arches date from 1426. The gothic spans are of 13 feet to 30 feet span, and they have five ribs, missing in some places, supporting the arch rings which are covered by weather drip moulds. The two southern arches are segmental, with spans of 16 and 21 feet. The bridge has not been widened, and provides a roadway of 12 feet 6 inches between the parapets. The bridge and causeway were now, since the 18th century, on an important turnpike, a major north-south route from
Bury (near
Ramsey) to Stratton (near
Biggleswade). The
Turnpike trust was established by an act of Parliament, and as such its upkeep carried legal maintenance obligations. An act of Parliament was obtained in 1819 authorising the raising of capital to carry out repairs, and in 1822
the Duke of Manchester built a viaduct, 200 yards in length consisting of 55 low arches. This was completed and opened on 17 September 1822, and became known as
The New Bridges; they are a grade II* listed structure.
The chapel The bridge chapel was deconsecrated in 1539 during the dissolution of the monasteries. After that time it was used as a private dwelling, and in the nineteenth century for a period as a public house In 1736 two additional storeys were constructed, in brick. By 1930 the chapel structure was found to be weakened, so the extra stories were removed and the chapel restored. As a result, the roof is modern. An unusual feature is the
crypt, about two metres above the river's water level. The bridge and the chapel are now
Grade I listed and a
scheduled monument. The chapel is still used for public worship on an occasional basis. They gifted it to Huntingdonshire County Council, reuniting the bridge and chapel in one ownership again. An appeal was started for money to restore the chapel; the increase of motorised road traffic – the bridge still carried the main London Road – had accelerated the deterioration. The money was quickly found and in 1930 the top two storeys of the chapel were removed. Repair work was necessary on the remaining part of the chapel, and that was complete by April 1930. The bridge continued to serve as the primary southern access to the town, carrying the B1040 road; it was the only local road bridge across the river between Huntingdon and
Earith, and buses and heavy lorry traffic used the bridge until Harrison Way by-pass was added in 1980, curving round to the east of the built-up area. ==Preservation==