The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction, Vol. 20, No. 581, Saturday, December 15, 1832, by Various

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Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 20, No.
581, Saturday, December 15, 1832

Author: Various

Release Date: June 5, 2004 [eBook #12531]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE,
AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION, VOL. 20, NO. 581, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15,
1832***

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THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

VOL. 20, NO. 581.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1832. [PRICE 2d.

* * * * *

[Illustration: CHAPEL ON THE BRIDGE, WAKEFIELD.]

CHAPEL ON THE BRIDGE, WAKEFIELD

Chapels on bridges are not so unfrequent in architectural history as
the rarity of their remains would indicate. Among the early records
of bridge-building we read that "the Romans built many bridges in
the provinces; viz. in France, Spain, Germany, Britain, &c. some
of which had arches or towers on them."[1] Plutarch derives the word
_Pontifex_, (high priest,) from sacrifices made upon bridges, a
ceremony of the highest antiquity. The priests are said to have been
commissioned to keep the bridges in repair, as an indispensable part of
their office. This we may conclude to have given rise to the annexation
of chapels to almost all our bridges of note; and the offerings were
of course for repairs: so that priests are considered to have been the
olden surveyors of bridges, and chapels on them to have been displaced
by the more secular establishment of toll-houses.[2]

The bridge, upon which stands the above chapel, crosses the Calder, at
the south-east entrance into Wakefie