21 THE GREAT BRIDGE OF BURTON-ON-TRENT. 
unribbed arch that he thinks it was the oldest. My experience 
would point to it being a late rebuilding, for these bridges began, as 
I showed ina paper on Monk’s Bridge, with a flat timber road- 
way from pier to pier, followed in the 13th century by ribbed 
arches. He also says the ribs varied from three to five and six in 
number. The span of the central and Western portion was from 
33 to 36-feet, while on the Eastern portion they averaged 21-feet. 
Out of the 34 arches not more than four were plain or unribbed. 
This to my mind is very strong evidence that in spite of storm, 
flood, and age, the old Bridge had stood well, not more than three 
or four arches had been so destroyed as to necessitate total rebuild- 
ing; and had the ancient Bridge been widened throughout its 
length, as so many of our old bridges have been treated, it would 
have been with us to this day, and I doubt not would, with proper 
repair, have outlasted the new Bridge. 
SS Ee IO 
