104

HISTORY

a dry-dock, that will hold a seventy-four gun-ship;and dock-yards, where have been built several shipsof war for government. At all these places ship-building and repairing are carried on with great spirit,skill and industry. There was a spacious docklower down the river at Sea-mills, but it has longbeen disused, and is now in ruins.

We have now to remark that there was aBridge over the Avon in one thousand one hundredand seventy-three, which was probably of wood;for in one thousand seven hundred and sixty-se-ven, when the workmen perforated the old piers, totry if they were fit to support the new Bridge,they found in the middle of Redcliff-pier, a cill ofoak, about a foot square and forty feet long, withtwo uprights near each end, about nine inches squareand nine feet high, morticed into the cill, whichthey concluded to.be the remains of the old wood-en Bridge, walled up into the pier, to prevent thetrouble of taking them out. The old Bridge ofstone had four Gothic arcs, lofty houses on eachside, and a gateway in the middle, with a chapelover it; was built in one thousand two hundred andforty-seven, and was five hundred and fourteen