The society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has worked
hard of late to save the old bridges that are threatened with destruction by the Ministry of Transport and the local authorities, anxious to provide for motor traffic. To assist the Society's campaign Mr. E. Jervoise has written a capital little book on The Ancient Bridges of the North of England (Architectural Press, 5s. 6d.), a pendant to his earlier book on the old bridges in the South. He works down from the Tweed, taking each river in turn and describing the historic bridges briefly and clearly. Moreover, he gives eighty photographs. Most travelled readers will remember some of these picturesque survivals, but few people, we imagine, have seen all the bridges that Mr. Jervoise has recorded. Yorkshire is rich in fine examples. Northumberland has a few, like Chollerford and Warkworth. Cumberland has a wonderful sixteenth-century bridge at Lanercost with two arches spanning fifty yards—a triumph for the monastic designer or promoter. The book is deserving of study.
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