Pulteney Bridge

Pulteney Bridge

Bridge built 1769–1774, designed by Robert Adam for William Johnstone Pulteney. The western mid-stream pier was rebuilt in 1804. The bridge underwent alteration in the 1890s and 1903, and was restored to some degree in 1951 and 1975. Constructed in limestone ashlar with Welsh slate and lead roofs.

The bridge is lined with shops on both sides, which are separately listed as numbers 1–17 Pulteney Bridge, though they form part of the same design and structure.

The bridge spans the river in three high segmental arches of equal span, crossing from abutments that stand forward into the water. It is designed in Palladian style.

The south elevation (downstream) features a single storey and attic superimposed over the arches. The spandrels of the piers are pierced by roundels, with half roundels in the abutments. Above the plinth stands a Doric order, which serves as the sill for windows throughout. The design is unbalanced: the western pavilion was moved eastward over the arch when Grand Parade was constructed in 1895, and the appearance was further altered when the water level of the Avon was raised by construction of Pulteney Weir in 1979.

The entablature features a continuously fluted frieze to the central section, which has a pediment broken into by a large Venetian window framed by Doric pilasters with four-over-four sashes. A dentil cornice runs across the bridge. On either side are three six-over-six sashes, the centre one framed by Doric pilasters with a small attic pediment centred over the pier. A further six-over-six sash is positioned centrally to the arch, and another stands above the spandrel on the east side before the pavilion is reached. The pavilions have six-over-six sashes with additional windows below and attic windows above crowned by small pediments, roofed by lead domes. The rebuilt western pavilion has a modern tripartite sash in an arched recess, an attic window, and a pediment. The south elevation represents only an approximation of the original design.

The north elevation (upstream) presents a remarkable contrast to the semi-restored south side, only properly opened to view around 1990. Above the arches, all shops are jettied out over the water and have slated pent roofs and six-over-six sashes, many dating to the early 19th century and demonstrating the rapid alteration that took place. Some upper floors are revealed, showing 19th-century two-over-two sashes and a pedimented centre with a recessed Venetian feature. The Doric porticos that once fronted the end pavilions as frames to the bridge entrances are missing.

The bridge connected Bath with Bathwick, opening a new phase in the city's growth. William Pulteney opened discussions with the Corporation about creating a new bridge in 1768 and obtained an Act for development in 1769. A design by Thomas Paty of Bristol was prepared in 1769 but was abandoned. Robert Adam, possibly known to Pulteney from their shared Edinburgh background, was commissioned and probably conceived the idea of making it an inhabited bridge with shops along its length, responding to Palladio's renowned proposals for monumental bridges with habitable dwellings. Adam's designs, preserved at the Soane Museum, are dated 1777 and 1782 (probably retrospectively dated). Much of the bridge was ready for occupancy by 1773; the project cost around £11,000 by then. The shops were altered in 1792–94 to designs by Thomas Baldwin. In 1799 the centre began to fail. John Pinch, the estate surveyor, oversaw repairs from 1802, when the shops above the north side were taken down and rebuilt. Telford prepared an alternative design for a single-span cast iron bridge at this time. The bridge was scheduled as an Ancient Monument in 1936. The south side of the elevation was restored in 1951 and the piers were repaired in 1971. The upper structure was restored in 1975 by The Georgian Group and Bath City Council, with John Vivian as architect. The bridge is a notable Neoclassical structure embodying the neo-Roman scale of ambition held by the Pulteney estate and Robert Adam at the time.