Christian antiquities -- Great Britain; Folklore -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- Social life and customs; Manners and customs
On the west side of the Ouse Bridge, at York, was St. William's Chapel, an
interesting example of early English architecture. Respecting the origin
of this chapel, there is a popular story that it was built shortly after
the bridge was completed, in 1268, in obedience to royal commands. The
tale is to the effect that a Scotch nobleman was visiting the city,
shortly after the erection of the bridge, when some of the citizens
quarrelled and came to blows with his servants on the bridge. Several of
the strangers were slain. The riot was brought under the notice of the
kings of England and Scotland for settlement, and it was finally agreed
that the citizens of York should pay L300, a large amount in those days,
and erect a chapel on or near the spot where the servants met their
untimely deaths, and also that they maintain two priests to pray for the
souls of the slain men. After the Reformation, the chapel was converted
into an Exchange for the Society of Hamburg Merchants at York, and
subsequently put to other secular uses. Finally it was taken down, on the
erection of a new bridge, in the year 1810.
Under the year 1505, a note appears in Hollinworth's "Mancuniensis,"
stating that "Care was taken for the reparation of the chappell standing
on Salford Bridge, built, as it is sayd, by Thomas del Booth, in Edward
III.'s time. He certainly gave L30 towards the building of Salford Bridge;
and it was very usual on greater bridges to build chappells, in which they
did pray for the soules of their founders. This chappell is now converted
to a prison for Manchester and Salford." The building was pulled down in
1778, for the purpose of making the bridge wider.
[Illustration: BRADFORD BRIDGE.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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