Essex side the first stone of the new bridge was laid. It consisted of a mass of granite five and a half tons in weight. A cavity had been hollowed out in the centre, and in this was deposited a bottle containing a complete set of new current coin. A brass plate was also placed in the aperture bearing the following inscription :

Bow BRIDGE.

"The old Bridge over the river Lea, founded on this site by Matilda, Queen of Henry I., having become inadequate for the increased thoroughfare by land and water, and a new Bridge to replace the ancient structure having been resolved upon, this first stone was laid on XII. December, MDCCCXXXV., by Emma, the lady of John Henry Pelly, of Upton, in the county of Essex, Esquire, F.R.S., Deputy Master of the Trinity House, and Chairman of Trustees of the Middlesex and Essex turnpike roads, assisted by the Committee of Trustees, appointed to carry into effect the provisions of the Act 4 and 5, William IV., chap. 89, in relation to Bow Bridge."

Here follow the names of the trustees, Clerk to the Trust, the Engineers (James Walker, F.R.S., and Alfred Burges), the Surveyor to the Trust, and the builders (Messrs. Curtis).

On January 31st, 1838, the last stone of the arch was laid by John Henry Pelly, Esq., of Upton, and on this occasion a bronze medal of Queen Victoria, dated, and containing a suitable

inscription round the edge, was placed in the centre of the stone. A little more than a year afterwards, on the 14th February, 1839, the bridge was publicly opened by William Cotton, Esq., F.R.S., Sheriff of Essex. The Sheriff of Middlesex (Alderman Thomas Wood) also took part in the function.

The contract for the new bridge was for £11,000, and this included the erection of the temporary wooden structure. The following table dimensions may not be out of place :

of

In form the bridge is a flat segment, rising not more than three feet. The arch is oblique, and elliptical in form. The wing walls extend at each end, and terminate in granite pedestals. In erecting the new bridge the road was made straight, by taking it across the river diagonally

and removing a few old buildings on both banks.

A large quantity of the old masonry was used up in building the new arch, but the external facing is of blue Aberdeen granite. The foundations are strongly laid in the gravel several feet below the bed of the river, and sheet-piling is driven in all round them to afford additional protection.

Those who now pass along this fine wide roadway could hardly imagine the existence of such a structure as old Bow Bridge.

Inder.

Colchester, Saxon remains, 103
Gateway of, 108 Cunobelin, King of the Trino-

Chelmsford, "bloody assize" of, Dunmow Flitch, Morant on, 147