Chesters Roman Bridge Abutment
Dressed Roman stonework on the North Tyne's bank, the abutment of a bridge that once took Hadrian's Wall across the river
Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
On the North Tyne’s east bank, facing Chesters Roman Fort and right on the Hadrian’s Wall Path, big dressed stone blocks are what survives of a Roman crossing over the river. The first bridge here, raised when Hadrian’s Wall was going up in the AD 120s, was built only to get the Wall’s own wall-walk over the water. A second, far bigger bridge replaced it around AD 160, this time built for the Military Way, which ran beside the Wall to keep it supplied, on a wide carriageway with stone parapets set on tall piers. One of the surviving blocks has a phallus carved into its face, a symbol the Romans used against bad luck. The bridge stood until the AD 670s, when its stone was taken away to build Hexham Abbey.
