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HER Number (PRN):00382
Name:Medieval gatehouse and St Osyths Chapel, Bridgnorth
Type of Record:Monument
Protected Status:Conservation Area: Bridgnorth

Monument Type(s):

  • CHAPEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
  • GATEHOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

The site of a medieval gatehouse upon Bridgnorth Bridge (PRN 00423). The gatehouse probably housed St Osyth's or St St. Sythe' Chapel. The Chapel was mentioned in early 16th century licences. The gatehouse is depicted in a late 18th painting and an early 19th century engraving.

Parish:Bridgnorth, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
Map Sheet:SO79SW
Grid Reference:SO 7189 9300

Related records

00423Related to: Severn Bridge at Bridgnorth (Monument)

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

  • ESA412 - 1960 field observation by the Ordnance Survey

Description

The old Gatehouse on the [Bridgnorth] Bridge (PRN 0423) which was erected at the east end, extended from the one pier to that on the opposite side. <1a>

The Chapel, which was formerly on the bridge at Bridgnorth, was known variously as that of The Holy Trinity and St. Sythe, St. Clement and St. Sythe, or St. Sythe or Osyth. It is mentioned in licences granted in 1512-5. The precise location of the chapel to St Osyth or St Sythe is uncertain, but it was probably over the fortified gate on the bridge (PRN 0423). The foundation of the chapel may go back to the founding of the town, c1100. A detailed inventory of the chapel of the early C16 is published. The Gateway is shown in a painting of 1797. The only trace of the gatehouse now to be seen is in the much thickened pier between the second and the third arches from the east end. <1b>

The size of the piers of the present bridge is comparable to those shown by the 1823 engraving - see illustrations AO/60/182/8 - and it seems probable that [<1b>] is correct in siting the Gatehouse upon the 2nd pier - at SO 7188 9300. <1c>

No trace of the chapel remains. <2a>

Sources

[00]SSA20722 - Card index: Shropshire County Council SMR. Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards. SMR record cards. SMR Card for PRN SA 00382.
[01a]SSA1718 - Article in serial: Watkins-Pitchford D W. 1937/ 1938. Collections for a History of Bridgnorth, Salop: a MS by William Hardwicke. Trans Shropshire Archaeol Hist Soc. Vol 49. p189-216. p199.
[01b]SSA1740 - Article in serial: Clark-Maxwell W G. 1923/ 1924. Bridgnorth: the Bridge and its Chapel. Trans Shropshire Archaeol Hist Soc. Ser 4, Vol IX (=Vol 42). p118-125. p118-125.
[01]SSA1742 - Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1960. Ordnance Survey Record Card SO79SW14 . Ordnance Survey record cards. SO79SW14 .
[01c]SSA31554 - Site visit report: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. Various. NRHE: Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 JR 08-JUL-1960.
[02]SSA1741 - Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1960. Ordnance Survey Record Card SO79SW13 . Ordnance Survey record cards. SO79SW13 .
[02a]SSA31554 - Site visit report: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. Various. NRHE: Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 JR 08-JUL-1960.
Date Last Edited:Jan 30 2025 11:34AM