THIS venerable structure, which for more than five hundred years afforded the means of communication between the north and south banks of the Clyde, and was long known as the "Great Bridge of Glasgow," is now numbered with the things that were. It is therefore matter of satisfaction that our artist has preserved a correct representation of a building of so much importance in the days of our fathers, and which, up till 1771, when the first Jamaica Street Bridge was opened, formed the only means of communication between the ancient city and the southern suburb of Gorbals, with the counties of Renfrew and Ayr beyond. From the praiseworthy operations of the Clyde Trustees, the channel of the river had of late years depressed several feet below the foundations of the Old Bridge, and it became necessary to protect the bottom of the piers by compact masses of stone, which were enclosed within a strong range of piles, running across the river both above and below the bridge. The structure thus stood latterly on a sort of artificial platform, which was liable to be damaged or swept away by every recurrence of the winter floods. With all these appliances, therefore, Stockwell Bridge had become decidedly unsafe; and accordingly it was deemed necessary by the Trustees to obtain an Act of Parliament, giving power to remove the old and build a new bridge commensurate with the wants of modern Glasgow. For three years preceding its demolition the Old Bridge was entirely disused as the means of passage for horses, carriages, or cattle, being appropriated exclusively to pedestrians.

In the beginning of 1850 the Bridge Trustees accepted the contract offer of Mr. William York, then Deacon-Convener of the Incorporations, to take down the Old Bridge and erect the New; and accordingly that gentleman commenced the work of removal in February, and by the close of autumn scarcely a vestige of the olden structure remained. Meanwhile, the operations for the New Bridge were far advanced. That it will be a structure, both as regards ornament and utility, worthy of this great city, is undoubted. Our concern, however, is not with this magnificent stranger, but with the good old servant of the public which has now passed away. According to uninterrupted tradition, Stockwell Bridge was built about the year 1345, by Bishop William Ray or Rae, assisted by the pious Lady Lochow, who, it is said, defrayed the expense of the third arch from the north side. There is no authentic record known to be in existence of this great work on the part of the prelate and the lady; and it is somewhat difficult to believe that operations of such magnitude could have been executed in a time of such national depression as that during which Bishop Rae filled the episcopal see. He was Bishop of Glasgow from 1337 till 1367, during the unfortunate reign of David II., when the kingdom suffered from the disasters of Edward Baliol's wars, from the battles of Duplin, Halidon Hill, and Neville's Cross. It must be remembered, however, that in these times labour was cheap on the one hand, and the power of the Church very great on the other; and as no one else has claimed the honour of building the bridge, we see no reason for depriving the prelate of the credit which tradition has uninterruptedly assigned to him. The bridge originally presented a roadway of only twelve feet in width; and there were eight arches, one of which fell on the 7th July, 1671, one of the days of Glasgow Fair, but happily no person was injured. It is worthy of being noted that, on the very day previous the Town Council had resolved to take down this arch for "eschewing of danger, seeing it's not lyklie to stand." This was very clean shaving on the part of our ancestors, for they saved their credit for foresight by a single day. A view of the Old Bridge, as it stood for more than four hundred years, was drawn in the reign of Charles II., by Capt. John Slezer of the "Artillery Company and Surveyor of His Majesty's Magazines in Scotland." A prominent object in this old view is the Waterport or southern gateway of the city which stood in the line of the present Clyde Street, and a little to the westward of the bridge. The port afforded access to and egress from the bridge by a simple arch; but this was a very important barrier, for here was levied the town's dues from the agricultural produce which entered the city from the counties of Renfrew and Ayr. It was situated closely adjoining the present Waterport buildings; and it may be interesting to many to know that in this locality, from distant time down to a period comparatively recent, were accommodated the "Shows," which use to astonish the natives at Glasgow Fair. Here many successive generations of giants and dwarfs Merry Andrews, and wild-beast showmen, did a noisy stroke of business in view of the "Great Bridge of Glasgow"; and here even Katerfelto, with hair on end, "wondered at his own wonders." We may add that the small house on the right or Gorbals side of the view, which is overshadowed by trees, was quite a modern erection, and used for the accommodation of the toll-keeper.

Stockwell Bridge stood, as originally constructed, till 1776, when the pathway was completely remodelled, the levels reduced, and an addition of 10 feet made to the breadth on the east side looking up the river. At the same time the two arches on the north side were built up, for the purpose of confining the river, and protecting the adjacent property from the effect of floods. Again 1821 the capacity of the bridge was further improved, under the directions of the celebrated Thomas Telford, the engineer of the bridge over the Menai Straits, by the addition of footpaths, supported on tasteful iron framings, giving to the whole a breadth of 34 feet within the railings. The length of the bridge was 415 feet. The old structure was built of fine stone, of a close grit, and to the last degree durable. Where it has been got is not known, for Mr. York tells us that no such material is now worked in the neighbourhood of Glasgow.

In removing the earth and road metal which covered the original arches of Stockwell Bridge to the depth of several feet, a somewhat curious fact was brought to light, viz., that our forefathers must have used the bare structure of the arch for making a passage over the bridge, without any attempt to fill up the inequalities, and construct a level or inclined road. In this way the bridge would only be crossed in these fine old times by a series of ups and downs of the most toilsome kind. At the demolition of the bridge this was made so plain that a child might understand it. The stones of the arch, instead of being sharp and ragged, as they would have been had a distinct roadway been formed above them, are rounded, smooth, and worn, showing the evidence of continued abrasion and lengthened traffic. This, we think, pretty satisfactorily accounts for an entry in the old Town Council Records, which has often puzzled us. It is of date 18th September, 1658, and ordains that the tacksman of the bridge is not to suffer any carts with wheels to go along the bridge, "until that the wheels be taken off, and the body of the cart alon harled be the hors." By this regulation the bridge would not be rutted by the wheels; and though there would no doubt be tear and wear of the stones, still the bottom of the cart would get the worst of it. The horse traffic must have been on a very limited scale, however, in these early times, for in 1590 the "casualties and costumes of the brig" were let by auction for the then current year at the modest rental of 80 merks Scots.