Pulteney Bridge is a bridge over the River Avon in Bath, England. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with land in Bathwick which the Pulteney family wished to develop. Designed by Robert Adam in a Palladian style, it is one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. and Henrietta Street and Laura Place there, named after their daughter Henrietta Laura Johnstone.

Design and construction

thumb|Pulteney Bridge by [[Thomas Malton in 1785]]Pulteney Bridge was designed by Robert Adam, whose original drawings are preserved in the Sir John Soane's Museum in London. It is one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides, the others being Ponte Vecchio in Florence and Rialto in Venice, and the Krämerbrücke in Erfurt, Germany.

Initial plans for the bridge were drawn up by Thomas Paty, who estimated it would cost £4,569 to build, without the shops. A second estimate of £2,389 was obtained from local builders John Lowther and Richard Reed; it included two shops at each end of the bridge, but work neither design began before winter weather made construction of the pillars impossible. In 1770 the brothers Robert and James Adam, who were working on designs for the new town at Bathwick, adapted Paty's original design. The builders for the lower part of the bridge were local masons Reed and Lowther; the shops were constructed by Singers and Lankeshere. Further work was carried out in the 1960s to repair the underside soffits of all three arches. More restoration of the southern street façade was needed in 1975. but the plan was abandoned in September 2011. It however remains a large source of income for the council, due to it being the most fined bus lane in the city.

Architecture

thumb|left|Pulteney Bridge in 1779 by [[Thomas Malton]]

The bridge features a narrow street flanked by two full length rows of shops designed in the Palladian style c. 1770. All sit above three segmental arches of equal span. The shops on the north side have cantilevered rear extensions. Consequently, the northern external façade of the bridge is asymmetrical, much altered and of no architectural merit, was constructed between 1968 and 1972 as part of a flood-prevention scheme. Further restoration was undertaken in 1975.

<gallery heights="90">

File:Bath England 0400 09.jpg|Pulteney Bridge in 2024

File:Bath Weir (1) 2025-07-23.jpg|Weir near Pulteney Bridge in 2025

File:Pulteney Bridge (view from the north side).jpg|Cantilevered extensions on the north face

File:Shops on Pulteney Bridge.JPG|Shops on the north side

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See also

  • Ponte Vecchio
  • Krämerbrücke
  • Rialto Bridge
  • High Bridge

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Lecture Diagram 58: Perspective Construction of Pulteney Bridge, Bath (after Thomas Malton Junior) c.1810 by Joseph Turner, at the Tate, retrieved 25 April 2013