History of Bridge Building
4. Roman Bridges.—The first bridge known to have been constructed at Rome over the Tiber was the timber Pons Sublicius, the bridge defended by Horatius. The Pons Milvius, now Ponte Molle, was reconstructed in stone by M. Aemilius Scaurus in 109 B.C., and some portions of the old bridge are believed to exist in the present structure. The arches vary from 51 to 79 ft. span. The Pons Fabricius (mod. Ponte dei Quattro Capi), of about 62 B.C., is practically intact; and the Pons Cestius, built probably in 46 B.C., retains much of the original masonry. The Pons Aelius, built by Hadrian A.D. 134 and repaired by Pope Nicholas II. and Clement IX., is now the bridge of St Angelo. It had eight arches, the greatest span being 62 ft.[[1]] Dio Cassius mentions a bridge, possibly 3000 to 4000 ft. in length, built by Trajan over the Danube in A.D. 104. Some piers are said still to exist. A bas-relief on the Trajan column shows this bridge with masonry piers and timber arches, but the representation is probably conventional (fig. 1). Trajan also constructed the bridge of Alcantara in Spain (fig. 2), of a total length of 670 ft., at 210 ft. above the stream. This had six arches and was built of stone blocks without cement. The bridge of Narses, built in the 6th century (fig. 3), carried the Via Salaria over the Anio. It was destroyed in 1867, during the approach of Garibaldi to Rome. It had a fortification such as became usual in later bridges for defence or for the enforcement of tolls. The great lines of aqueducts built by Roman engineers, and dating from 300 B.C. onwards, where they are carried above ground, are arched bridge structures of remarkable magnitude (see Aqueducts, § Roman). They are generally of brick and concrete.
5. Medieval and other Early Bridges.—Bridges with stone piers and timber superstructures were no doubt constructed from Roman times onward, but they have perished. Fig. 4 shows a timber bridge erected by the brothers Grubenmann at Schaffhausen about the middle of the 18th century. It had spans of 172 and 193 ft., and may be taken as a representative type of bridges of this kind. The Wittingen bridge by the same engineers had a span of 390 ft., probably the longest timber
span ever constructed. Of stone bridges in Great Britain, the earliest were the cyclopean bridges still existing on Dartmoor, consisting of stone piers bridged by stone slabs. The bridge over the East Dart near Tavistock had three piers, with slabs 15 ft. by 6 ft. (Smiles, Lives of the Engineers, ii. 43). It is reputed to have lasted for 2000 years.
The curious bridge at Crowland near Peterborough (fig. 5) which now spans roadways, the streams which formerly flowed under it having been diverted, is one of the earliest known stone bridges in England. It is referred to in a charter of the year 943. It was probably built by the abbots. The first bridges over the Thames at London were no doubt of timber. William of Malmesbury mentions the existence of a bridge in 994. J. Stow (Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster) describes the building of the first stone bridge commonly called Old London Bridge: "About the year 1176, the stone bridge was begun to be founded by Peter of Colechurch, near unto the bridge of timber, but more towards the west." It carried timber houses (fig. 6) which were frequently burned down, yet the main structure existed till the beginning of the 19th century. The span of the arches ranged from 10 to 33 ft., and the total waterway was only 337 ft. The waterway of the present London Bridge is 690 ft., and the removal of the obstruction caused by the old bridge caused a lowering of the low-water level by 5 ft., and a considerable deepening of the river-bed. (See Smiles, Lives of the Engineers, "Rennie.")
From J. R Green's A Short History of the English People, by permission of Macmillan & Co., Ltd.
The architects of the Renaissance showed great boldness in their designs. A granite arch built in 1377 over the Adda at Trezzo had a span at low water of 251 ft. This noble bridge was destroyed for military reasons by Carmagnola in 1416. The Rialto bridge at Venice, with a span of 91 ft., was built in 1588 by Antonio da Ponte. Fig. 7 shows the beautiful Ponte dellà Trinità erected at Florence in 1566 from the design of B. Ammanati.
6. Modern Bridges.—(a) Timber.—In England timber bridges of considerable span, either braced trusses or laminated arches (i.e. arches of planks bolted together), were built for some of the earlier railways, particularly the Great Western and the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire. They have mostly been replaced, decay having taken place at the joints. Timber bridges of large span were constructed in America between the end of the 18th and the middle of the 19th century. The Amoskeag bridge over the Merrimac at Manchester, N.H., U.S.A., built in 1792, had 6 spans of 92 ft. The Bellows Falls bridge over the Connecticut (built 1785-1792) had 2 spans of 184 ft. The singular Colossus bridge, built in 1812 over the Schuylkill, a kind of flat arched truss, had a span of 340 ft. Some of these timber bridges are said to have lasted ninety years with ordinary repairs, but they were road bridges not heavily loaded. From 1840, trusses, chiefly of timber but with wrought-iron tension-rods and cast-iron shoes, were adopted in America. The Howe truss of 1830 and the Pratt truss of 1844 are examples. The Howe truss had timber chords and a lattice of timber struts, with vertical iron ties. In the Pratt truss the struts were vertical and the ties inclined. Down to 1850 such bridges were generally limited to 150 ft. span. The timber was white pine. As railway loads increased and greater spans were demanded, the Howe truss was stiffened by timber arches on each side of each girder. Such a composite structure is, however, fundamentally defective, the distribution of loading to the two independent systems being indeterminate. Remarkably high timber piers were built. The Genesee viaduct, 800 ft. in length, built in 1851-1852 in 10 spans, had timber trestle piers 190 ft. in height. (See Mosse, "American Timber Bridges," Proc. Inst. C.E. xxii. p. 305, and for more modern examples, cxlii. p. 409; and clv. p. 382; Cooper, "American Railroad Bridges," Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. vol. xxi pp. 1-28.) These timber framed structures served as models for the earlier metal trusses which began to be used soon after 1850, and which, except in a few localities where iron is costly, have quite superseded them.
7. (b) Masonry.—The present London Bridge, begun in 1824 and completed in 1831, is as fine an example of a masonry arch structure as can be found (figs. 8 and 9). The design was made by John Rennie the elder, and the acting engineer was his son, Sir John Rennie. The semi-elliptical shape of the arches the variation of span, the slight curvature of the roadway, and the simple yet bold architectural details, combine to make it a singularly beautiful bridge. The centre arch has a span of 152 ft., and rises 29 ft. 6 in above Trinity high-water mark; the arches on each side of the centre have a span of 140 ft. and the abutment arches 130 ft. The total length of the bridge is 1005 ft., its width from outside to outside 56 ft., and height above low
water 60 ft. The two centre piers are 24 ft. thick, the exterior stones are granite, the interior, half Bramley Fall and half from Painshaw, Derbyshire. The voussoirs of the centre arch (all of granite) are 4 ft. 9 in. deep at the crown, and increase to not less than 9 ft. at the springing. The general depth at which the foundations are laid is about 29 ft. 6 in. below low water. The total cost was £1,458,311, but the contractor's tender for the bridge alone was £425,081.
Since 1867 it had been recognized that London Bridge was inadequate to carry the traffic passing over it, and a scheme for widening it was adopted in 1900. This was carried out in 1902-1904, the footways being carried on granite corbels, on which are mounted cornices and open parapets. The width between parapets is now 65 ft., giving a roadway of 35 ft. and two footways of 15 ft. each. The architect was Andrew Murray and the engineer, G. E. W. Cruttwell. (Cole, Proc. Inst. C.E. clxi. p. 290.)
The largest masonry arch is the Adolphe bridge in Luxemburg, erected in 1900-1903. This has a span of 278 ft., 138 ft. rise above the river, and 102 ft. from foundation to crown. The thickness of the arch is 4 ft. 8 in. at the crown and 7 ft. 2 in. where it joins the spandrel masonry. The roadway is 52 ft. 6 in. wide. The bridge is not continuous in width, there are arch rings on each face, each 16.4 ft. wide with a space between of 19.7 ft. This space is filled with a flooring of reinforced concrete, resting on the two arches, and carrying the central roadway. By the method adopted the total masonry has been reduced one-third. One centering was used for the two arch rings, supported on dwarf walls which formed a slipway, along which it was moved after the first was built.
Till near the end of the 19th century bridges of masonry or brickwork were so constructed that they had to be treated as rigid blockwork structures. The stability of such structures depends on the position of the line of pressure relatively to the intrados and extrados of the arch ring. Generally, so far as could be ascertained, the line of pressure lies within the middle half of the depth of the voussoirs. In finding the abutment reactions some principle such as the principle of least action must be used, and some assumptions of doubtful validity made. But if hinges are introduced at crown and springings, the calculation of the stresses in the arch ring becomes simple, as the line of pressures must pass through the hinges. Such hinges have been used not only for metal arches, but in a modified form for masonry and concrete arches. Three cases therefore arise: (a) The arch is rigid at crown and springings; (b) the arch is two-hinged (hinges at springings); (c) the arch is three-hinged (hinges at crown and springings). For an elementary account of the theory of arches, hinged or not, reference may be made to a paper by H. M. Martin (Proc. Inst. C. E. vol. xciii. p. 462); and for that of the elastic arch, to a paper by A.E.Young (Proc. Inst. C.E. vol. cxxxi. p. 323).
In Germany and America two- and three-hinged arches of masonry and concrete have been built, up to 150 ft. span, with much economy, and the calculations being simple, an engineer can venture to work closely to the dimensions required by theory. For hinges, Leibbrand, of Stuttgart, uses sheets of lead about 1 in. thick extending over the middle third of the depth of the voussoir joints, the rest of the joints being left open. As the lead is plastic this construction is virtually an articulation. If the pressure on the lead is uniformly varying, the centre of pressure must be within the middle third of the width of the lead; that is, it cannot deviate from the centre of the voussoir joint by more than one-eighteenth of its depth. In any case the position of the line of pressures is confined at the lead articulations within very narrow limits, and ambiguity as to the stresses is greatly diminished. The restricted area on which the pressure acts at the lead joints involves greater intensity of stress than has been usual in arched bridges. In the Württemberg hinged arches a limit of stress of 110 tons per sq. ft. was allowed, while in the unhinged arches at Cologne and Coblentz the limit was 50 to 60 tons per sq. ft. (Annales des Fonts et Chaussées, 1891). At Rechtenstein a bridge of two concrete arches has been constructed, span 75½ ft., with lead articulations: width of arch 11 ft.; depth of arch at crown and springing 2.1 and 2.96 ft. respectively. The stresses were calculated to be 15, 17 and 12 tons per sq. ft. at crown, joint of rupture, and springing respectively. At Cincinnati a concrete arch of 70 ft. span has been built, with a rise of 10 ft. The concrete is reinforced by eleven 9-in. steel-rolled joists, spaced 3 ft. apart and supported by a cross-channel joist at each springing. The arch is 15 in. thick at the crown and 4 ft. at the abutments. The concrete consisted of 1 cement, 2 sand and 3 to 4 broken stone. An important series of experiments on the strength of masonry, brick and concrete structures will be found in the Zeitschr. des österreichen Ing. und Arch. Vereines (1895).
The thermal coefficient of expansion of steel and concrete is nearly the same, otherwise changes of temperature would cause shearing stress at the junction of the two materials. If the two materials are disposed symmetrically, the amount of load carried by each would be in direct proportion to the coefficient of elasticity and inversely as the moment of inertia of the cross section. But it is usual in many cases to provide a sufficient section of steel to carry all the tension. For concrete the coefficient of elasticity E varies with the amount of stress and diminishes as the ratio of sand and stone to cement increases. Its value is generally taken at 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 lb per sq. in. For steel E = 28,000,000 to 30,000,000, or on the average about twelve times its value for concrete. The maximum compressive working stress on the concrete may be 500 lb per sq. in., the tensile working stress 50 lb per sq. in., and the working shearing stress 75 lb per sq. in. The tensile stress on the steel may be 16,000 lb per sq. in. The amount of steel in the structure may vary from 0.75 to 1.5%. The concrete not only affords much of the strength to resist compression, but effectively protects the steel from corrosion.
8. (c) Suspension Bridges.—A suspension bridge consists of two or more chains, constructed of links connected by pins, or of twisted wire strands, or of wires laid parallel. The chains pass over lofty piers on which they usually rest on saddles carried by rollers, and are led down on either side to anchorages in rock chambers. A level platform is hung from the chains by suspension rods. In the suspension bridge iron or steel can be used in its strongest form, namely hard-drawn wire. Iron suspension bridges began to be used at the end of the 18th century for road bridges with spans unattainable at that time in any other system. In 1819 T. Telford began the construction of the Menai bridge (fig. 10), the span being 570 ft. and the dip 43 ft. This bridge suffered some injury in a storm, but it is still in good condition and one of the most graceful of bridges. Other bridges built soon after were the Fribourg bridge of 870 ft. span, the Hammersmith bridge of 422 ft. span, and the Pest bridge of 666 ft. span. The merit of the simple suspension bridge is its cheapness, and its defect is its flexibility. This last becomes less
serious as the dead weight of the structure becomes large in proportion to the live or temporary load. It is, therefore, a type specially suited for great spans. Some suspension bridges have broken down in consequence of the oscillations produced by bodies of men marching in step. In 1850 a suspension bridge at Angers gave way when 487 soldiers were marching over it, and 226 were killed.
To obtain greater stiffness various plans have been adopted. In the Ordish system a certain number of intermediate points in the span are supported by oblique chains, on which girders rest. The Ordish bridge built at Prague in 1868 had oblique chains supporting the stiffening girders at intermediate points of the span. A curved chain supported the oblique chains and kept them straight. In 1860 a bridge was erected over the Danube canal at Vienna, of 264 ft. span which had two parallel chains one above the other and 4 ft. apart on each side of the bridge. The chains of each pair were connected by bracing so that they formed a stiff inverted arch resisting deformation under unequal loading. The bridge carried a railway, but it proved weak owing to errors of calculation, and it was taken down in 1884. The principle was sound and has been proposed at various times. About 1850 it was perceived that a bridge stiff enough to carry railway trains could be constructed by combining supporting chains with stiffening girders suspended from them. W. J. M. Rankine proved (Applied Mechanics, p. 370) that the necessary strength of a stiffening girder would be only one-seventh part of that of an independent girder of the same span as the bridge, suited to carry the same moving load (not including the dead weight of the girder which is supported by the chain). (See "Suspension Bridge with Stiffened Roadway," by Sir G. Airy, and the discussion, Proc. Inst, C.E., 1867, xxvi. p. 258; also "Suspension Bridges with Stiffening Girders," by Max am Ende, Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxxvii. p. 306.)
The most remarkable bridge constructed on this system was the Niagara bridge built by J. A. Roebling in 1852-1855 (fig. 11). The span was 821 ft., much the largest of any railway bridge at that time, and the height above the river 245 ft. There were four suspension cables, each 10 in. in diameter; each was composed of seven strands, containing 520 parallel wires, or 3640 wires in each cable. Each cable was carried on a separate saddle on rollers on each pier. The stiffening girder, constructed chiefly of timber, was a box-shaped braced girder 18 ft. deep and 25 ft. wide, carrying the railway on top and a roadway within. After various repairs and strengthenings, including the replacement of the timber girder by an iron one in 1880, this bridge in 1896-1897 was taken down and a steel arch built in its place. It was not strong enough to deal with the increasing weight of railway traffic. In 1836 I. K. Brunei constructed the towers and abutments for a suspension bridge of 702 ft. span at Clifton over the Avon, but the project was not then carried further; in 1860, however, the link chains of the Hungerford suspension bridge which was being taken down were available at small cost, and these were used to complete the bridge. There are three chains on each side, of one and two links alternately, and these support wrought iron stiffening girders. There are wrought iron saddles and steel rollers on the piers. At 196 ft. on either side from the towers the chains are carried over similar saddles without rollers, and thence at 45° with the horizontal down to the anchorages. Each chain has an anchor plate 5 ft. by 6 ft. The links are 24 ft. long at the centre of the bridge, and longer as they are more inclined, so that their horizontal projection is 24 ft. The chains are so arranged that there is a suspending rod at each 8 ft., attached at the joint of one of the three chains. For erection a suspended platform was constructed on eight wire ropes, on which the chains were laid out and connected. Another wire rope with a travelling carriage took out the links. The sectional area of the chains is 481 sq. in. at the piers and 440 sq. in. at the centre. The two stiffening girders are plate girders 3 ft. deep with flanges of 11 sq. in. area. In addition, the hand railing on each side forms a girder 4 ft. 9 in. deep, with flanges 4½ sq. in. area.
Of later bridges of great span, perhaps the bridges over the East river at New York are the most remarkable. The Brooklyn bridge, begun in 1872, has a centre span of 1595½ and side spans of 930 ft. The Brooklyn approach being 971 ft., and the New York approach 1562½ ft., the total length of the bridge is 5989 ft. There are four cables which carry a promenade, a roadway and an electric railway. The stiffening girders of the main span are 40 ft. deep and 67 ft. apart. The saddles for the chains are 329 ft. above high water. The cables are 15¾ in. in diameter. Each cable has 19 strands of 278 parallel steel wires, 7 B.W.G. Each wire is taken separately across the river and its length adjusted. Roebling preferred parallel wires as 10 % stronger than twisted wires. Each strand when made up and clamped was lowered to its position. The Williamsburg bridge (fig. 12), begun in 1897 and opened for traffic in 1903, has a span of 1600 ft., a versed sine of 176 ft., and a width of 118 ft. It has two decks, and carries two elevated railway tracks, four electric tramcar lines, two carriageways, two footways and two
bicycle paths. There are four cables, one on each side of the two main trusses or stiffening girders. These girders are supported by the cables over the centre span but not in the side spans. Intermediate piers support the trusses in the side spans. The cables are 18¾ in. in diameter; each weighs about 1116 tons, and has a nominal breaking strength of 22,320 tons, the actual breaking strength being probably greater. The saddles are 332 ft. above the water. The four cables support a dead load of 7140 tons and a live load of 4017 tons. Each cable is composed of 37 strands of 208 wires, or 7696 parallel steel wires, No. 8 B.W.G., or about 3/16 in. in diameter. The wire was required to have a tensile strength of 89 tons per sq. in., and 2½% elongation in 5 ft. and 5% in 8 in. Cast steel clamps hold the cable together, and to these the suspending rods are attached. The cables are wrapped in cotton duck soaked in oxidized oil and varnish, and are sheathed in sheet iron. A later bridge, the Manhattan, is designed to carry four railway tracks and four tramway lines, with a wide roadway and footpaths, supported by cables 21¼ in. in diameter, each composed of 9472 galvanized steel wires 3/16 in. in diameter.
The Tower Bridge, London (fig. 13), is a suspension bridge with a secondary bascule bridge in the centre span to permit the passage of ships. Two main towers in the river and two towers on the shore abutments carry the suspension chains. The opening bridge between the river towers consists of two leaves or bascules, pivoted near the faces of the piers and rotating in a vertical plane. When raised, the width of 200 ft. between the main river piers is unobstructed up to the high-level foot-bridge, which is 141 ft. above Trinity H.W. The clear width of the two shore spans is 270 ft. The total length of the bridge is 940 ft., and that of the approaches 1260 ft. on the north and 780 ft. on the south. The width of the bridge between parapets is 60 ft., except across the centre span, where it is 49 ft. The main towers consist of a skeleton of steel, enclosed in a facing of granite and Portland stone, backed with brickwork. There are two high-level footways for use when the bascules are raised, the main girders of which are of the cantilever and suspended girder type. The cantilevers are fixed to the shore side of the towers. The middle girders are 120 ft. in length and attached to the cantilevers by links. The main suspension chains are carried across the centre span in the form of horizontal ties resting on the high-level footway girders. These ties are jointed to the hanging chains by pins 20 in. in diameter with a ring in halves surrounding it 5 in. thick. One half ring is rigidly attached to the tie and one to the hanging chain, so that the wear due to any movement is distributed over the length of the pin. A rocker bearing under these pins transmits the load at the joint to the steel columns of the towers. The abutment towers are similar to the river towers. On the abutment towers the chains are connected by horizontal links, carried on rockers, to anchor ties. The suspension chains are constructed in the form of braced girders, so that they are stiff against unsymmetrical loading. Each chain over a shore span consists of two segments, the longer attached to the tie at the top of the river tower, the shorter to the link at the top of the abutment tower, and the two jointed together at the lowest point. Transverse girders are hung from the chains at distances of 18 ft. There are fifteen main transverse girders to each shore span, with nine longitudinal girders between each pair. The trough flooring, ⅜ in. thick and 6 in. deep, is riveted to the longitudinals. The anchor ties are connected to girders embedded in large concrete blocks in the foundations of the approach viaducts.
The two bascules are each constructed with four main girders. Over the river these are lattice girders, with transverse girders 12 ft. apart, and longitudinal and subsidiary transverse girders dividing the floor into rectangles 3 ft. by 3½ ft. covered with buckled plates. The roadway is of pine blocks dowelled. The bascules rotate through an angle of 82°, and their rear ends in the bascule chambers of the piers carry 365 tons of counterweight, the total weight of each being 1070 tons. They rotate on steel shafts 21 in. in diameter and 48 ft. long, and the bascules can be lifted or lowered in one minute, but usually the time taken is one and a half minutes. They are worked by hydraulic machinery.
9. (d) Iron and Steel Girder Bridges.—The main supporting members are two or more horizontal beams, girders or trusses. The girders carry a floor or platform either on top (deck bridges) or near the bottom (through bridges). The platform is variously constructed. For railway bridges it commonly consists of cross girders, attached to or resting on the main girders, and longitudinal rail girders or stringers carried by the cross girders and directly supporting the sleepers and rails. For spans over 75 ft., expansion due to change of temperature is provided for by carrying one end of each chain girder on rollers placed between the bearing-plate on the girder and the bed-plate on the pier or abutment.
Fig. 14 shows the roller bed of a girder of the Kuilenburg bridge of 490 ft. span. It will be seen that the girder directly rests on a cylindrical pin or rocker so placed as to distribute the load uniformly to all the rollers. The pressure on the rollers is limited to about p = 600 d in lb per in. length of roller, where d is the diameter of the roller in inches.
In the girders of bridges the horizontal girder is almost exclusively subjected to vertical loading forces. Investigation of the internal stresses, which balance the external forces, shows that most of the material should be arranged in a top flange, boom or chord, subjected to compression, and a bottom flange or chord, subjected to tension. (See Strength of Materials.) Connecting the flanges is a vertical web which may be a solid plate or a system of bracing bars. In any case, though the exact form of cross section of girders varies very much, it is virtually an I section (fig. 15). The function of the flanges is to resist a horizontal tension and compression distributed practically uniformly on their cross sections. The web resists forces equivalent
to a shear on vertical and horizontal planes. The inclined tensions and compressions in the bars of a braced web are equivalent to this shear. The horizontal stresses in the flanges are greatest at the centre of a span. The stresses in the web are greatest at the ends of the span. In the most numerous cases the flanges or chords are parallel. But girders may have curved chords and then the stresses in the web are diminished.
At first girders had solid or plate webs, but for spans over 100 ft. the web always now consists of bracing bars. In some girder bridges the members are connected entirely by riveting, in others the principal members are connected by pin joints. The pin system of connexion used in the Chepstow, Saltash, Newark Dyke and other early English bridges is now rarely used in Europe. But it is so commonly used in America as to be regarded as a distinctive American feature. With pin connexions some weight is saved in the girders, and erection is a little easier. In early pin bridges insufficient bearing area was allowed between the pins and parts connected, and they worked loose. In some cases riveted covers had to be substituted for the pins. The proportions are now better understood. Nevertheless the tendency is to use riveted connexions in preference to pins, and in any case to use pins for tension members only.
On the first English railways cast iron girder bridges for spans of 20 to 66 ft. were used, and in some cases these were trussed with wrought iron. When in 1845 the plans for carrying the Chester and Holyhead railway over the Menai Straits were considered, the conditions imposed by the admiralty in the interests of navigation involved the adoption of a new type of bridge. There was an idea of using suspension chains combined with a girder, and in fact the tower piers were built so as to accommodate chains. But the theory of such a combined structure could not be formulated at that time, and it was proved, partly by experiment, that a simple tubular girder of wrought iron was strong enough to carry the railway. The Britannia bridge (fig. 16) has two spans of 460 and two of 230 ft. at 104 ft. above high water. It consists of a pair of tubular girders with solid or plate sides stiffened by angle irons, one line of rails passing through each tube. Each girder is 1511 ft. long and weighs 4680 tons. In cross section (fig. 17), it is 15 ft. wide and varies in depth from 23 ft. at the ends to 30 ft. at the centre. Partly to counteract any tendency to buckling under compression and partly for convenience in assembling a great mass of plates, the top and bottom were made cellular, the cells being just large enough to permit passage for painting. The total area of the cellular top flange of the large-span girders is 648 sq. in., and of the bottom 585 sq. in. As no scaffolding could be used for the centre spans, the girders were built on shore, floated out and raised by hydraulic presses. The credit for the success of the Conway and Britannia bridges must be divided between the engineers. Robert Stephenson and William Fairbairn, and Eaton Hodgkinson, who assisted in the experimental tests and in formulating the imperfect theory then available. The Conway bridge was first completed, and the first train passed through the Britannia bridge in 1850. Though each girder has been made continuous over the four spans it has not quite the proportions over the piers which a continuous girder should have, and must be regarded as an imperfectly continuous girder. The spans were in fact designed as independent girders, the advantage of continuity being at that time imperfectly known. The vertical sides of the girders are stiffened so that they amount to 40% of the whole weight. This was partly necessary to meet the uncertain conditions in floating when the distribution of supporting forces was unknown and there were chances of distortion.
Wrought iron and, later, steel plate web girders were largely used for railway bridges in England after the construction of the Conway and Menai bridges, and it was in the discussions arising during their design that the proper function of the vertical web between the top and bottom flanges of a girder first came to be understood. The proportion of depth to span in the Britannia bridge was 1/16. But so far as the flanges are concerned the stress
to be resisted varies inversely as the depth of the girder. It would be economical, therefore, to make the girder very deep. This, however, involves a much heavier web, and therefore for any type of girder there must be a ratio of depth to span which is most economical. In the case of the plate web there must be a considerable excess of material, partly to stiffen it against buckling and partly because an excess of thickness must be provided to reduce the effect of corrosion. It was soon found that with plate webs the ratio of depth to span could not be economically increased beyond 1/15 to 1/12. On the other hand a framed or braced web afforded opportunity for much better arrangement of material, and it very soon became apparent that open web or lattice or braced girders were more economical of material than solid web girders, except for small spans. In America such girders were used from the first and naturally followed the general design of the earlier timber bridges. Now plate web girders are only used for spans of less than 100 ft.
Three types of bracing for the web very early developed—the Warren type in which the bracing bars form equilateral triangles, the Whipple Murphy in which the struts are vertical and the ties inclined, and the lattice in which both struts and ties are inclined at equal angles, usually 45° with the horizontal. The earliest published theoretical investigations of the stresses in bracing bars were perhaps those in the paper by W.T. Doyne and W.B. Blood (Proc. Inst. C.E., 1851, xi. p. 1), and the paper by J. Barton, "On the economic distribution of material in the sides of wrought iron beams" (Proc. Inst. C.E., 1855, xiv. p. 443).
The Boyne bridge, constructed by Barton in Ireland, in 1854-1855, was a remarkable example of the confidence with which engineers began to apply theory in design. It was a bridge for two lines of railway with lattice girders continuous over three spans. The centre span was 264 ft., and the side spans 138 ft. 8 in.; depth 22 ft. 6 in. Not only were the bracing bars designed to calculated stresses, and the continuity of the girders taken into account, but the validity of the calculations was tested by a verification on the actual bridge of the position of the points of contrary flexure of the centre span. At the calculated position of one of the points of contrary flexure all the rivets of the top boom were cut out, and by lowering the end of the girder over the side span one inch, the joint was opened 1/32 in. Then the rivets were cut out similarly at the other point of contrary flexure and the joint opened. The girder held its position with both joints severed, proving that, as should be the case, there was no stress in the boom where the bending moment changes sign.
By curving the top boom of a girder to form an arch and the bottom boom to form a suspension chain, the need of web except for non-uniform loading is obviated. I.K. Brunel adopted this principle for the Saltash bridge near Plymouth, built soon after the Britannia bridge. It has two spans of 455 ft. and seventeen smaller spans, the roadway being 100 ft. above high water. The top boom of each girder is an elliptical wrought iron tube 17 ft. wide by 12 ft. deep. The lower boom is a pair of chains, of wrought-iron links, 14 in each chain, of 7 in. by 1 in. section, the links being connected by pins. The suspending rods and cross bracing are very light. The depth of the girder at the centre is about one-eighth of the span.
In both England and America in early braced bridges cast iron, generally in the form of tubes circular or octagonal in section, was used for compression members, and wrought iron for the tension members. Fig. 19 shows the Newark Dyke bridge on the Great Northern railway over the Trent. It was a pin-jointed Warren girder bridge erected from designs by C.M. Wild in 1851-1853. The span between supports was 259 ft., the clear span 240½ ft.; depth between joint pins 16 ft. There were four girders, two to each line of way. The top flange consisted of cast iron hollow castings butted end to end, and the struts were of cast iron. The lower flange and ties were flat wrought iron links. This bridge has now been replaced by a stronger bridge to carry the greater loads imposed by modern traffic. Fig. 20 shows a Fink truss, a characteristic early American type, with cast iron compression and wrought iron tension members. The bridge is a deck bridge, the railway being carried on top. The transfer of the loads to the ends of the bridge by
long ties is uneconomical, and this type has disappeared. The Warren type, either with two sets of bracing bars or with intermediate verticals, affords convenient means of supporting the floor girders. In 1869 a bridge of 390 ft. span was built on this system at Louisville.
Amongst remarkable American girder bridges may be mentioned the Ohio bridge on the Cincinnati & Covington railway, which is probably the largest girder span constructed. The centre span is 550 ft. and the side spans 490 ft.—centre to centre of piers. The girders are independent polygonal girders. The centre girder has a length of 545 ft. and a depth of 84 ft. between pin centres. It is 67 ft. between parapets, and carries two lines of railway, two carriageways, and two footways. The cross girders, stringers and wind-bracing are wrought iron, the rest of mild steel. The bridge was constructed in 1888 by the Phoenix Bridge Company, and was erected on staging. The total weight of iron and steel in three spans was about 5000 tons.
10. (e) Cantilever Bridges.—It has been stated that if in a girder bridge of three or more spans, the girders were made continuous there would be an important economy of material, but that the danger of settlement of the supports, which would seriously alter the points of contrary flexure or points where the bending moment changes sign, and therefore the magnitude and distribution of the stresses, generally prevents the adoption of continuity. If, however, hinges or joints are introduced at the points of contrary flexure, they become necessarily points where the bending moment is zero and ambiguity as to the stresses vanishes. The exceptional local conditions at the site of the Forth bridge led to the adoption there of the cantilever system, till then little considered. Now it is well understood that in many positions this system is the simplest and most economical method of bridging. It is available for spans greater than those practicable with independent girders; in fact, on this system the spans are virtually reduced to smaller spans so far as the stresses are concerned. There is another advantage which in many cases is of the highest importance. The cantilevers can be built out from the piers, member by member, without any temporary scaffolding below, so that navigation is not interrupted, the cost of scaffolding is saved, and the difficulty of building in deep water is obviated. The centre girder may be built on the cantilevers and rolled into place or lifted from the water-level. Fig. 21 shows a typical cantilever bridge of American design. In this case the shore ends of the cantilevers are anchored to the abutments. J.A.L. Waddell has shown that, in some cases, it is convenient to erect simple independent spans, by building them out as cantilevers and converting them into independent girders after erection. Fig. 22 shows girders erected in this way, the dotted lines being temporary members during erection, which are removed afterwards. The side spans are erected first on staging and anchored to the piers. From these, by the aid of the temporary members, the centre span is built out from both sides. The most important cantilever bridges so far erected or projected are as follows:—
(1) The Forth bridge (fig. 23). The original design was for a stiffened suspension bridge, but after the fall of the Tay bridge in 1879 this was abandoned. The bridge, which was begun in 1882 and completed in 1889, is at the only narrowing of the Forth in a distance of 50 m., at a point where the channel, about a mile in width, is divided by the island of Inchgarvie. The length of the cantilever bridge is 5330 ft., made up thus: central tower on Inchgarvie 260 ft.; Fife and Queensferry piers each 145 ft.; two central girders between cantilevers each 350 ft.; and six cantilevers each 680 ft. The two main spans are each 1710 ft. The clear headway is 157 ft., and the extreme height of the towers above high water 361 ft. The outer ends of the shore cantilevers are loaded to balance half the weight of the central girder, the rolling load, and 200 tons in addition. An internal viaduct of lattice girders carries a double line of rails. Provision is made for longitudinal expansion due to change of temperature, for distortion due to the sun acting on one side of the structure, and for the wind acting on one side of the bridge. The amount of steel used was 38,000 tons exclusive of approach viaducts. (See The Forth Bridge, by W. Westhofen; Reports of the British Association (1884 and 1885); Die Forth Brücke, von G. Barkhausen (Berlin, 1889); The Forth Bridge, by Philip Phillips (1890); Vernon Harcourt, Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxi. p. 309.)
(2) The Niagara bridge of a total length of 910 ft., for two lines of railway. Clear span between towers 495 ft. Completed in 1883, and more recently strengthened (Proc. Inst. C.E. cvii. p. 18, and cxliv. p. 331).
(3) The Lansdowne bridge (completed 1889) at Sukkur, over the Indus. The clear span is 790 ft., and the suspended girder 200 ft. in length. The span to the centres of the end uprights is 820 ft.; width between centres of main uprights at bed-plate 100 ft., and between centres of main members at end of cantilevers 20 ft. The bridge is for a single line of railway of 5 ft. 6 in. gauge. The back guys are the most heavily strained part of the structure, the stress provided for being 1200 tons. This is due to the half weight of centre girder, the weight of the cantilever itself, the rolling load on half the bridge, and the wind pressure. The anchors are built up of steel plates and angle, bars, and are buried in a large mass of concrete. The area of each anchor plate, normal to the line of stress, is 32 ft. by 12 ft. The bridge was designed by Sir A. Rendel, the consulting engineer to the Indian government (Proc. Inst. C.E. ciii. p. 123).
(4) The Red Rock cantilever bridge over the Colorado river, with a centre span of 660 ft.
(5) The Poughkeepsie bridge over the Hudson, built 1886-1887. There are five river and two shore spans. The girders over the second and fourth spans are extended as cantilevers over the adjoining spans. The shore piers carry cantilevers projecting one way over the river openings and the other way over a shore span where it is secured to an anchorage. The girder spans are 525 ft., the cantilever spans 547 ft., and the shore spans 201 ft.
(6) The Quebec bridge (fig. 25) over the St Lawrence, which collapsed while in course of construction in 1907. This bridge, connecting very important railway systems, was designed to carry two lines of rails, a highway and electric railway on each side, all between the main trusses. Length between abutments 3240 ft.;
channel span 1800 ft.; suspended span 675 ft.; shore spans 562½ ft. Total weight of metal about 32,000 tons.
(7) The Jubilee bridge over the Hugli, designed by Sir Bradford Leslie, is a cantilever bridge of another type (fig. 26). The girders are of the Whipple Murphy type, but with curved top booms. The bridge carries a double line of railway, between the main girders. The central double cantilever is 360 ft. long. The two side span girders are 420 ft long. The cantilever rests on two river piers 120 ft. apart, centre to centre. The side girders rest on the cantilevers on 15 in. pins, in pendulum links suspended from similar pins in saddles 9 ft. high.
11. (f) Metal Arch Bridges.—The first iron bridge erected was constructed by John Wilkinson (1728-1808) and Abraham Darby (1750-1791) in 1773-1779 at Coalbrookdale over the Severn (fig. 27). It had five cast iron arched ribs with a centre span of 100 ft. This curious bridge is still in use. Sir B. Baker stated that it had required patching for ninety years, because the arch and the high side arches would not work together. Expansion and contraction broke the high arch and the connexions between the arches. When it broke they fished it. Then the bolts sheared or the ironwork broke in a new place. He advised that there was nothing unsafe; it was perfectly strong and the stress in vital parts moderate. All that needed to be done was to fish the fractured ribs of the high arches, put oval holes in the fishes, and not screw up the bolts too tight.
Cast iron arches of considerable span were constructed late in the 18th and early in the 19th century. The difficulty of casting heavy arch ribs led to the construction of cast iron arches of cast voussoirs, somewhat like the voussoirs of masonry bridges. Such a bridge was the Wearmouth bridge, designed by Rowland Burdon and erected in 1793-1796, with a span of 235 ft. Southwark bridge over the Thames, designed by John Rennie with cast iron ribs and erected in 1814-1819, has a centre span of 240 ft. and a rise of 24 ft. In Paris the Austerlitz (1800-1806) and Carrousel (1834-1836) bridges had cast iron arches. In 1858 an aqueduct bridge was erected at Washington by M.C. Meigs (1816-1892). This had two arched ribs formed by the cast iron pipes through which the water passed. The pipes were 4 ft. in diameter inside, 1½ in. thick, and were lined with staves of pine 3 in. thick to prevent freezing. The span was 200 ft.
Fig. 28 shows one of the wrought iron arches of a bridge over the Rhine at Coblenz. The bridge consists of three spans of about 315 ft. each.
Of large-span bridges with steel arches, one of the most important is the St Louis bridge over the Mississippi, completed in 1874 (fig. 29). The river at St Louis is confined to a single channel, 1600 ft. wide, and in a freshet in 1870 the scour reached a depth of 51 ft. Captain J.B. Eads, the engineer, determined to establish the piers and abutments on rock at a depth for the east pier and east abutment of 136 ft. below high water. This was effected by caissons with air chambers and air locks, a feat unprecedented in the annals of engineering. The bridge has three spans, each formed of arches of cast steel. The centre span is 520 ft. and the side spans 502 ft. in the clear. The rise of the centre arch is 47½ ft., and that of the side arches 46 ft. Each span has four steel double ribs of steel tubes butted and clasped by wrought iron couplings. The vertical bracing between the upper and lower members of each rib, which are 12 ft. apart, centre to centre, consolidates them into a single arch. The arches carry a double railway track and above this a roadway 54 ft. wide.
The St Louis bridge is not hinged, but later bridges have been constructed with hinges at the springings and sometimes with hinges at the crown also.
The Alexander III. bridge over the Seine has fifteen steel ribs hinged at crown and springings with a span of 353 ft. between centres of hinges and 358 ft. between abutments. The rise from side to centre hinges is 20 ft. 7 in. The roadway is 65½ ft. wide and footways 33 ft. (Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxx. p. 335).
The largest three-hinged-arch bridge constructed is the Viaur viaduct in the south of France (fig. 30). The central span is 721 ft. 9 in. and the height of the rails above the valley 380 ft. It has a very fine appearance, especially when seen in perspective and not merely in elevation.
Fig. 31 shows the Douro viaduct of a total length of 1158 ft. carrying a railway 200 ft. above the water. The span of the central opening is 525 ft. The principal rib is crescent-shaped 32.8 ft. deep
at the crown. Rolling load taken at 1.2 ton per ft. Weight of centre span 727 tons. The Luiz I. bridge is another arched bridge over the Douro, also designed by T. Seyrig. This has a span of 566 ft. There are an upper and lower roadway, 164 ft. apart vertically. The arch rests on rollers and is narrowest at the crown. The reason given for this change of form was that it more conveniently allowed the lower road to pass between the springings and ensured the transmission of the wind stresses to the abutments without interrupting the cross-bracing. Wire cables were used in the erection, by which the members were lifted from barges and assembled, the operations being conducted from the side piers.
The Niagara Falls and Clifton steel arch (fig. 32) replaces the older Roebling suspension bridge. The centre span is a two-hinged parabolic braced rib arch, and there are side spans of 190 and 210 ft. The bridge carries two electric-car tracks, two roadways and two footways. The main span weighed 1629 tons, the side spans 154 and 166 tons (Buck, Proc. Inst. C.E. cxliv. p. 70). Prof. Claxton Fidler, speaking of the arrangement adopted for putting initial stress on the top chord, stated that this bridge marked the furthest advance yet made in this type of construction. When such a rib is erected on centering without initial stress, the subsequent compression of the arch under its weight inflicts a bending stress and excess of compression in the upper member at the crown. But the bold expedients adopted by the engineer annulled the bending action.
The Garabit viaduct carries the railway near St Flour, in the Cantal department, France, at 420 ft. above low water. The deepest part of the valley is crossed by an arch of 541 ft. span, and 213 ft. rise. The bridge is similar to that at Oporto, also designed by Seyrig. It is formed by a crescent-shaped arch, continued on one side by four, on the other side by two lattice girder spans, on iron piers. The arch is formed by two lattice ribs hinged at the abutments. Its depth at the crown is 33 ft., and its centre line follows nearly the parabolic line of pressures. The two arch ribs are 65½ ft. apart at the springings and 20½ ft. at the crown. The roadway girders are lattice, 17 ft. deep, supported from the arch ribs at four points. The total length of the viaduct is 1715 ft. The lattice girders of the side spans were first rolled into place, so as to project some distance beyond the piers, and then the arch ribs were built out, being partly supported by wire-rope cables from the lattice girders above. The total weight of ironwork was 3200 tons and the cost £124,000 (Annales des travaux publiques, 1884).
The Victoria Falls bridge over the Zambezi, designed by Sir Douglas Fox, and completed in 1905, is a combination of girder and arch having a total length of 650 ft. The centre arch is 500 ft. span, the rise of the crown 90 ft., and depth at crown 15 ft. The width between centres of ribs of main arch is 27½ ft. at crown and 53 ft. 9 in at springings. The curve of the main arch is a parabola. The bridge has a roadway of 30 ft. for two lines of rails. Each half arch was supported by cables till joined at the centre. An electric cableway of 900 ft. span capable of carrying 10 tons was used in erection.
12. (g) Movable Bridges can be closed to carry a road or railway or in some cases an aqueduct, but can be opened to give free passage to navigation. They are of several types:—
(1) Lifting Bridges.—The bridge with its platform is suspended from girders above by chains and counterweights at the four corners (fig. 33 a). It is lifted vertically to the required height when opened. Bridges of this type are not very numerous or important.
(2) Rolling Bridges.—The girders are longer than the span and the part overhanging the abutment is counter-weighted so that the centre of gravity is over the abutment when the bridge is rolled forward (fig. 33 b). To fill the gap in the approaches when the bridge is rolled forward a frame carrying that part of the road is moved into place sideways. At Sunderland, the bridge is first lifted by a hydraulic press so as to clear the roadway behind, and is then rolled back.
(3) Draw or Bascule Bridges.—The fortress draw-bridge is the original type, in which a single leaf, or bascule, turns round a horizontal hinge at one abutment. The bridge when closed is supported on abutments at each end. It is raised by chains and counterweights. A more common type is a bridge with two leaves or bascules, one hinged at each abutment. When closed
the bascules are locked at the centre (see fig. 13). In these bridges each bascule is prolonged backwards beyond the hinge so as to balance at the hinge, the prolongation sinking into the piers when the bridge is opened.
(4) Swing or Turning Bridges.—The largest movable bridges revolve about a vertical axis. The bridge is carried on a circular base plate with a central pivot and a circular track for a live ring and conical rollers. A circular revolving platform rests on the pivot and rollers. A toothed arc fixed to the revolving platform or to the live ring serves to give motion to the bridge. The main girders rest on the revolving platform, and the ends of the bridge are circular arcs fitting the fixed roadway. Three arrangements are found: (a) the axis of rotation is on a pier at the centre of the river and the bridge is equal armed (fig. 33 c), so that two navigation passages are opened simultaneously. (b) The axis of rotation is on one abutment, and the bridge is then usually unequal armed (fig. 33 d), the shorter arm being over the land. (c) In some small bridges the shorter arm is vertical and the bridge turns on a kind of vertical crane post at the abutment (fig. 33 e).
(5) Floating Bridges, the roadway being carried on pontoons moored in the stream.
The movable bridge in its closed position must be proportioned like a fixed bridge, but it has also other conditions to fulfil. If it revolves about a vertical axis its centre of gravity must always lie in that axis; if it rolls the centre of gravity must always lie over the abutment. It must have strength to support safely its own overhanging weight when moving.
At Konigsberg there is a road bridge of two fixed spans of 39 ft., and a central span of 60 ft. between bearings, or 41 ft. clear, with balanced bascules over the centre span. Each bascule consists of two main girders with cross girders and stringers. The main girders are hung at each side on a horizontal shaft 8⅝ in. in diameter, and are 6 ft. deep at the hinge, diminishing to 1 ft. 7 in. at the centre of the span. The counterweight is a depressed cantilever arm 12 ft. long, overlapped by the fixed platform which sinks into a recess in the masonry when the bridge opens. In closed position the main girders rest on a bed plate on the face of the pier 4 ft. 3 in. beyond the shaft bearings. The bridge is worked by hydraulic power, an accumulator with a load of 34 tons supplying pressure water at 630 lb per sq. in. The bridge opens in 15 seconds and closes in 25 seconds.
At the opening span of the Tower bridge (fig. 13) there are four main girders in each bascule. They project 100 ft. beyond and 62 ft. 6 in. within the face of the piers. Transverse girders and bracings are inserted between the main girders at 12 ft. intervals. The floor is of buckled plates paved with wood blocks. The arc of rotation is 82°, and the axis of rotation is 13 ft. 3 in. inside the face of the piers, and 5 ft. 7 in. below the roadway. The weight of ballast in the short arms of the bascules is 365 tons. The weight of each leaf including ballast is about 1070 tons. The axis is of forged steel 21 in. in diameter and 48 ft. long. The axis has eight bearings, consisting of rings of live rollers 4-7/16 in. in diameter and 22 in. long. The bascules are rotated by pinions driven by hydraulic engines working in steel sectors 42 ft. radius (Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxvii. p. 35).
As an example of a swing bridge, that between Duluth and Superior at the head of Lake Superior over the St Louis river may be described. The centre opening is 500 ft., spanned by a turning bridge, 58 ft. wide. The girders weighing 2000 tons carry a double track for trains between the girders and on each side on cantilevers a trolley track, roadway and footway. The bridge can be opened in 2 minutes, and is operated by two large electric motors. These have a speed reduction from armature shaft to bridge column of 1500 to 1, through four intermediate spur gears and a worm gear. The end lifts which transfer the weight of the bridge to the piers when the span is closed consist of massive eccentrics having a throw of 4 in. The clearance is 2 in., so that the ends are lifted 2 in. This gives a load of 50 tons per eccentric. One motor is placed at each end of the span to operate the eccentrics and also to release the latches and raise the rails of the steam track.
At Riga there is a floating pontoon bridge over the Duna. It consists of fourteen rafts, 105 ft. in length, each supported by two pontoons placed 64 ft. apart. The pairs of rafts are joined by three baulks 15 ft. long laid in parallel grooves in the framing. Two spans are arranged for opening easily. The total length is 1720 ft. and the width 46 ft. The pontoons are of iron, 85½ ft. in length, and their section is elliptical, 10½ ft. horizontal and 12 ft. vertical. The displacement of each pontoon is 180 tons and its weight 22 tons. The mooring chains, weighing 22 lb per ft., are taken from the upstream end of each pontoon to a downstream screw pile mooring and from the downstream end to an upstream screw pile.
13. Transporter Bridges.—This new type of bridge consists of a high level bridge from which is suspended a car at a low level. The car receives the traffic and conveys it across the river, being caused to travel by electric machinery on the high level bridge. Bridges of this type have been erected at Portugalete, Bizerta, Rouen, Rochefort and more recently across the Mersey between the towns of Widnes and Runcorn.
The Runcorn bridge crosses the Manchester Ship Canal and the Mersey in one span of 1000 ft., and four approach spans of 55½ ft. on one side and one span on the other. The low-level approach roadways are 35 ft. wide with footpaths 6 ft. wide on each side. The supporting structure is a cable suspension bridge with stiffening girders. A car is suspended from the bridge, carried by a trolley running on the underside of the stiffening girders, the car being
propelled electrically from one side to the other. The underside of the stiffening girder is 82 ft. above the river. The car is 55 ft. long by 24½ ft. wide. The electric motors are under the control of the driver in a cabin on the car. The trolley is an articulated frame 77 ft. long in five sections coupled together with pins. To this are fixed the bearings of the running wheels, fourteen on each side. There are two steel-clad series-wound motors of 36 B.H.P. For a test load of 120 tons the tractive force is 70 lb per ton, which is sufficient for acceleration, and maintaining speed against wind pressure. The brakes are magnetic, with auxiliary handbrakes. Electricity is obtained by two gas engines (one spare) each of 75 B.H.P.
On the opening day passengers were taken across at the rate of more than 2000 per hour in addition to a number of vehicles. The time of crossing is 3 or 4 minutes. The total cost of the structure was £133,000.
14. In the United States few railway companies design or build their own bridges. General specifications as to span, loading, &c., are furnished to bridge-building companies, which make the design under the direction of engineers who are experts in this kind of work. The design, with strain sheets and detail drawings, is submitted to the railway engineer with estimates. The result is that American bridges are generally of well-settled types and their members of uniform design, carefully considered with reference to convenient and accurate manufacture. Standard patterns of details are largely adopted, and more system is introduced in the workshop than is possible where the designs are more varied. Riveted plate girders are used up to 50 ft. span, riveted braced girders for spans of 50 ft. to 75 ft., and pin-connected girders for longer spans. Since the erection of the Forth bridge, cantilever bridges have been extensively used, and some remarkable steel arch and suspension bridges have also been constructed. Overhead railways are virtually continuous bridge constructions, and much attention has been given to a study of the special conditions appertaining to that case.
Substructure.
15. The substructure of a bridge comprises the piers, abutments and foundations. These portions usually consist of masonry in some form, including under that general head stone masonry, brickwork and concrete. Occasionally metal work or woodwork is used for intermediate piers.
When girders form the superstructure, the resultant pressure on the piers or abutments is vertical, and the dimensions of these are simply regulated by the sufficiency to bear this vertical load.
When arches form the superstructure, the abutment must be so designed as to transmit the resultant thrust to the foundation in a safe direction, and so distributed that no part may be unduly compressed. The intermediate piers should also have considerable stability, so as to counterbalance the thrust arising when one arch is loaded while the other is free from load.
For suspension bridges the abutment forming the anchorage must be so designed as to be thoroughly stable under the greatest pull which the chains can exert. The piers require to be carried above the platform, and their design must be modified according to the type of suspension bridge adopted. When the resultant pressure is not vertical on the piers these must be constructed to meet the inclined pressure. In any stiffened suspension bridge the action of the pier will be analogous to that of a pier between two arches.
Concrete in a shell is a name which might be applied to all the methods of founding a pier which depend on the very valuable property which strong hydraulic concrete possesses of setting into a solid mass under water. The required space is enclosed by a wooden or iron shell; the soil inside the shell is removed by dredging, or some form of mechanical excavator, until the formation is reached which is to support the pier; the concrete is then shot into the enclosed space from a height of about 10 ft., and rammed down in layers about 1 ft. thick; it soon consolidates into a permanent artificial stone.
Piles are used as foundations in compressible or loose soil. The heads of the piles are sawn off, and a platform of timber or concrete rests on them. Cast iron and concrete reinforced piles are now used. Screw piles are cast iron piles which are screwed into the soil instead of being driven in. At their end is fixed a blade of cast iron from two to eight times the diameter of the shaft of the pile; the pitch of the screw varies from one-half to one-fourth of the external diameter of the blade.
Disk piles have been used in sand. These piles have a flat flange at the bottom, and water is pumped in at the top of the pile, which is weighted to prevent it from rising. Sand is thus blown or pumped from below the piles, which are thus easily lowered in ground which baffles all attempts to drive in piles by blows. In ground which is of the nature of quicksand, piles will often slowly rise to their original position after each blow.
Wells.—In some soils foundations may be obtained by the device of building a masonry casing like that of a well and excavating the soil inside; the casing gradually sinks and the masonry is continued at the surface. This method is applicable in running sands. The interior of the well is generally filled up with concrete or brick when the required depth has been reached.
Piers and Abutments.—Piers and abutments are of masonry, brickwork, or cast or wrought iron. In the last case they consist of any number of hollow cylindrical pillars, vertical or raking, turned and planed at the ends and united by a projection or socket and by flanges and bolts. The pillars are strengthened against lateral yielding by horizontal and diagonal bracing. In some cases the piers are cast iron cylinders 10 ft. or more in diameter filled with concrete.
Cylinder Foundations.—Formerly when bridge piers had to be placed where a firm bearing stratum could only be reached at a considerable depth, a timber cofferdam was used in which piles were driven down to the firm stratum. On the piles the masonry piers were built. Many bridges so constructed have stood for centuries. A great change of method arose when iron cylinders and in some cases brick cylinders or wells were adopted for foundations. These can be sunk to almost any depth or brought up to any height, and are filled with Portland cement concrete. They are sometimes excavated by grabs. Sometimes they are closed in and kept free of water by compressed air so that excavation work can be carried on inside them (fig. 35). Sometimes in silty river beds they are sunk 100 ft. or more, for
security against deep scouring of the river-bed in floods. In the case of the Empress bridge over the Sutlej each pier consisted of three brick wells, 19 ft. in diameter, sunk 110 ft. The piers of the Benares bridge were single iron caissons, 65 ft. by 28 ft., sunk about 100 ft., lined with brick and filled with concrete. At the Forth bridge iron caissons 70 ft. in diameter were sunk about 40 ft. into the bed of the Forth. In this case the compressed air process was used.
16. Erection.—Consideration of the local conditions affecting the erection of bridges is always important, and sometimes becomes a controlling factor in the determination of the design. The methods of erection may be classed as—(1) erection on staging or falsework; (2) floating to the site and raising; (3) rolling out from one abutment; (4) building out member by member, the completed part forming the stage from which additions are handled.
(1) In erection on staging, the materials available determine the character of the staging; stacks of timber, earth banks, or built-up staging of piles and trestles have all been employed, also iron staging, which can be rapidly erected and moved from site to site. The most ordinary type of staging consists of timber piles at nearly equal distances of 20 ft. to 30 ft., carrying a timber platform, on which the bridge is erected. Sometimes a wide space is left for navigation, and the platform at this part is carried by a timber and iron truss. When the headway is great or the river deep, timber-braced piers or clusters of piles at distances of 50 ft. to 100 ft. may be used. These carry temporary trusses of timber or steel. The Kuilenburg bridge in Holland, which has a span of 492 ft., was erected on a timber staging of this kind, containing 81,000 cub. ft. of timber and 5 tons of bolts. The bridge superstructure weighed 2150 tons, so that 38 cub. ft. of timber were used per ton of superstructure.
(2) The Britannia and Conway bridges were built on staging on shore, lifted by pontoons, floated out to their position between the piers, and lastly lifted into place by hydraulic presses. The Moerdyk bridge in Holland, with 14 spans of 328 ft., was erected in a similar way. The convenience of erecting girders on shore is very great, but there is some risk in the floating operations and a good deal of hauling plant is required.
(3) If a bridge consists of girders continuous over two or more spans, it may be put together on the embankment at one end and rolled over the piers. In some cases hauling tackle is used, in others power is applied by levers and ratchets to the rollers on which the girders travel. In such rolling operations the girder is subjected to straining actions different from those which it is intended to resist, and parts intended for tension may be in compression; hence it may need to be stiffened by timber during rolling. The bending action on the bottom boom in passing over the rollers is also severe. Modifications of the system have been adopted for bridges with discontinuous spans. In narrow ravines a bridge of one span may be rolled out, if the projecting end is supported on a temporary suspension cable anchored on each side. The free end is slung to a block running on the cable. If the bridge is erected when the river is nearly dry a travelling stage may be constructed to carry the projecting end of the girder while it is hauled across, the other end resting on one abutment. Sometimes a girder is rolled out about one-third of its length, and then supported on a floating pontoon.
(4) Some types of bridge can be built out from the abutments, the completed part forming an erecting stage on which lifting appliances are fixed. Generally, in addition, wire cables are stretched across the span, from which lifting tackle is suspended. In bridges so erected the straining action during erection must be studied, and material must be added to resist erecting stresses. In the case of the St Louis bridge, half arches were built out on either side of each pier, so that the load balanced. Skeleton towers on the piers supported chains attached to the arched ribs at suitable points. In spite of careful provision, much difficulty was experienced in making the connexion at the crown, from the expansion due to temperature changes. The Douro bridge was similarly erected. The girders of the side spans were rolled out so as to overhang the great span by 105 ft., and formed a platform from which parts of the arch could be suspended. Dwarf towers, built on the arch ring at the fifth panel from either side, helped to support the girder above, in erecting the centre part of the arch (Seyrig, Proc. Inst. C.E. lxiii. p. 177). The great cantilever bridges have been erected in the same way, and they are specially adapted for erection by building out.
Straining Actions and Working Stresses.
17. In metal bridges wrought iron has been replaced by mild steel—a stronger, tougher and better material. Ingot metal or mild steel was sometimes treacherous when first introduced, and accidents occurred, the causes of which were obscure. In fact, small differences of composition or variations in thermal treatment during manufacture involve relatively large differences of quality. Now it is understood that care must be taken in specifying the exact quality and in testing the material supplied. Structural wrought iron has a tenacity of 20 to 22½ tons per sq. in. in the direction of rolling, and an ultimate elongation of 8 or 10% in 8 in. Across the direction of rolling the tenacity is about 18 tons per sq. in., and the elongation 3% in 8 in. Steel has only a small difference of quality in different directions. There is still controversy as to what degree of hardness, or (which is nearly the same thing) what percentage of carbon, can be permitted with safety in steel for structures.
The qualities of steel used may be classified as follows:—(a) Soft steel, having a tenacity of 22½ to 26 tons per sq. in., and an elongation of 32 to 24% in 8 in. (b) Medium steel, having a tenacity of 26 to 34 tons per sq. in., and 28 to 25% elongation. (c) Moderately hard steel, having a tenacity of 34 to 37 tons per sq. in., and 17% elongation, (d) Hard steel, having a tenacity of 37 to 40 tons per sq. in., and 10% elongation. Soft steel is used for rivets always, and sometimes for the whole superstructure of a bridge, but medium steel more generally for the plates, angle bars, &c., the weight of the bridge being then reduced by about 7% for a given factor of safety. Moderately hard steel has been used for the larger members of long-span bridges. Hard steel, if used at all, is used only for compression members, in which there is less risk of flaws extending than in tension members. With medium or moderately hard steel all rivet holes should be drilled, or punched ⅛ in. less in diameter than the rivet and reamed out, so as to remove the ring of material strained by the punch.
In the specification for bridge material, drawn up by the British Engineering Standards Committee, it is provided that the steel shall be acid or basic open-hearth steel, containing not more than 0.06% of sulphur or phosphorus. Plates, angles and bars, other than rivet bars, must have a tensile strength of 28 to 32 tons per sq. in., with an elevation of 20% in 8 in. Rivet bars tested on a gauge length eight times the diameter must have a tensile strength of 26 to 30 tons per sq. in. and an elongation of 25%.
18. Straining Actions.—The external forces acting on a bridge may be classified as follows:—
(1) The live or temporary load, for road bridges the weight of a dense crowd uniformly distributed, or the weight of a heavy wagon or traction engine; for railway bridges the weight of the heaviest train likely to come on the bridge. (2) An allowance is sometimes made for impact, that is the dynamical action of the live load due to want of vertical balance in the moving parts of locomotives, to irregularities of the permanent way, or to yielding of the structure. (3) The dead load comprises the weight of the main girders, flooring and wind bracing, or the total weight of the superstructure exclusive of any part directly carried by the piers. This is usually treated as uniformly distributed over the span. (4) The horizontal pressure due to a wind blowing transversely to the span, which becomes of importance in long and high bridges. (5) The longitudinal drag due to the friction of a train when braked, about one-seventh of the weight of the train. (6) On a curved bridge the centrifugal load due to the radical acceleration of the train. If w is the weight of a locomotive in tons, r the radius of curvature of the track, v the velocity in feet per sec.; then the horizontal force exerted on the bridge is wv2/gr tons. (7) In some cases, especially in arch and suspension bridges, changes of temperature set up stresses equivalent to those produced by an external load. In Europe a variation of temperature of 70° C. or 126° F. is commonly assumed. For this the expansion is about 1 in. in 100 ft. Generally a structure should be anchored at one point and free to move if possible in other directions. Roughly, if expansion is prevented, a stress of one ton per sq. in. is set up in steel structures for each 12° change of temperature.
i. Live Load on Road Bridges.—A dense crowd of people may be taken as a uniform load of 80 to 120 lb per sq. ft. But in recent times the weight of traction engines and wagons which pass over bridges has increased, and this kind of load generally produces greater straining action than a crowd of people. In manufacturing districts and near large towns loads of 30 tons may come on road bridges, and county and borough authorities insist on provision being made for such loads. In Switzerland roads are divided into three classes according to their importance, and the following loads are prescribed, the designer having to provide sufficient strength either for a uniformly distributed crowd, or for a heavy wagon anywhere on the roadway:—
| Crowd, lb per sq. ft. | Wagon, tons per axle. | |
| Main Roads | 92 | 10 with 13 ft. wheel base |
| Secondary Roads | 72 | 6 with 10 ft. wheel base |
| Other Roads | 51 | 3 with 8 ft. wheel base |
In England still larger loads are now provided for. J.C. Inglis (Proc. Inst. C.E. cxli. p. 35) has considered two cases—(a) a traction engine and boiler trolley, and (b) a traction engine and trucks loaded with granite. He has calculated the equivalent load per foot of span which would produce the same maximum bending moments. The following are some of the results:—
| Span Ft. | 10. | 20. | 30. | 40. | 50. |
| Equivalent load in tons per ft. run, Case a | 1.75 | 0.95 | 0.70 | 0.73 | 0.72 |
| Do. Case b | 3.25 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.15 |
Large as these loads are on short spans, they are not more than must often be provided for.
Live Load on Railway Bridges.—The live load is the weight of the heaviest train which can come on the bridge. In the earlier girder bridges the live load was taken to be equivalent to a uniform load of 1 ton per foot run for each line of way. At that time locomotives on railways of 4 ft. 8½ in. gauge weighed at most 35 to 45 tons, and their length between buffers was such that the average load did not exceed 1 ton per foot run. Trains of wagons did not weigh more than three-quarters of a ton per foot run when most heavily loaded. The weights of engines and wagons are now greater, and in addition it is recognized that the concentration of the loading at the axles gives rise to greater straining action, especially in short bridges, than the same load uniformly distributed along the span. Hence many of the earlier bridges have had to be strengthened to carry modern traffic. The following examples of some of the heaviest locomotives on English railways is given by W.B. Farr (Proc. Inst. C.E. cxli. p. 12):—
Passenger Engines.
| Total weights, tons | 84.35 | 98.90 | 91.90 | 85.48 |
| Tons per ft. over all | 1.58 | 1.71 | 1.62 | 1.61 |
| Tons per ft. of wheel base | 1.92 | 2.04 | 1.97 | 1.95 |
| Maximum axle load, tons | 19.00 | 16.00 | 18.70 | 18.50 |
Goods Engines.
| Total weight, tons | 77.90 | 78.80 | 76.46 | 75.65 |
| Tons per ft. over all | 1.54 | 1.50 | 1.54 | 1.51 |
| Tons per ft. of wheel base | 2.02 | 2.02 | 2.03 | 2.00 |
| Maximum axle load, tons | 15.90 | 16.00 | 13.65 | 15.50 |
Tank Engines.
| Total weight, tons | 53.80 | 58.61 | 60.80 | 47.00 |
| Tons per ft. over all | 1.60 | 1.68 | 1.70 | 1.55 |
| Tons per ft. of wheel base | 2.45 | 2.52 | 2.23 | 3.03 |
| Maximum axle load, tons | 17.54 | 15.29 | 17.10 | 15.77 |
Farr has drawn diagrams of bending moment for forty different very heavy locomotives on different spans, and has determined for each case a uniform load which at every point would produce as great a bending moment as the actual wheel loads. The following short abstract gives the equivalent uniform load which produces bending moments as great as those of any of the engines calculated:—
| Span in Ft. | Load per ft. run equivalent to actual Wheel Loads in Tons, for each Track. |
| 5.0 | 7.6 |
| 10.0 | 4.85 |
| 20.0 | 3.20 |
| 30.0 | 2.63 |
| 50.0 | 2.24 |
| 100.0 | 1.97 |
Fig. 36 gives the loads per axle and the distribution of loads in some exceptionally heavy modern British locomotives.
In Austria the official regulations require that railway bridges shall be designed for at least the following live loads per foot run and per track:—
Span. | Live Load in Tons. | ||
Metres. | Ft. | Per metre run. | Per ft. run. |
1 | 3.3 | 20 | 6.1 |
2 | 6.6 | 15 | 4.6 |
5 | 16.4 | 10 | 3.1 |
20 | 65.6 | 5 | 1.5 |
30 | 98.4 | 4 | 1.2 |
It would be simpler and more convenient in designing short bridges if, instead of assuming an equivalent uniform rolling load, agreement could be come to as to a typical heavy locomotive which would produce stresses as great as any existing locomotive on each class of railway. Bridges would then be designed for these selected loads, and the process would be safer in dealing with flooring girders and shearing forces than the assumption of a uniform load.
Some American locomotives are very heavy. Thus a consolidation engine may weigh 126 tons with a length over buffers of 57 ft., corresponding to an average load of 2.55 tons per ft. run. Also long ore wagons are used which weigh loaded two tons per ft. run. J.A.L. Waddell (De Pontibus, New York, 1898) proposes to arrange railways in seven classes, according to the live loads which may be expected from the character of their traffic, and to construct bridges in accordance with this classification. For the lightest class, he takes a locomotive and tender of 93.5 tons, 52 ft. between buffers (average load 1.8 tons per ft. run), and for the heaviest a locomotive and tender weighing 144.5 tons, 52 ft. between buffers (average load 2.77 tons per ft. run). Wagons he assumes to weigh for the lightest class 1.3 tons per ft. run and for the heaviest 1.9 tons. He takes as the live load for a bridge two such engines, followed by a train of wagons covering the span. Waddell's tons are short tons of 2000 lb.
ii. Impact.—If a vertical load is imposed suddenly, but without velocity, work is done during deflection, and the deformation and stress are momentarily double those due to the same load at rest on the structure. No load of exactly this kind is ever applied to a bridge. But if a load is so applied that the deflection increases with speed, the stress is greater than that due to a very gradually applied load, and vibrations about a mean position are set up. The rails not being absolutely straight and smooth, centrifugal and lurching actions occur which alter the distribution of the loading. Again, rapidly changing forces, due to the moving parts of the engine which are unbalanced vertically, act on the bridge; and, lastly, inequalities of level at the rail ends give rise to shocks. For all these reasons the stresses due to the live load are greater than those due to the same load resting quietly on the bridge. This increment is larger on the flooring girders than on the main ones, and on short main girders than on long ones. The impact stresses depend so much on local conditions that it is difficult to fix what allowance should be made. E.H. Stone (Trans. Am. Soc. of C.E. xli. p. 467) collated some measurements of deflection taken during official trials of Indian bridges, and found the increment of deflection due to impact to depend on the ratio of dead to live load. By plotting and averaging he obtained the following results:—
Excess of Deflection and straining Action of a moving Load over that due to a resting Load.
| Dead load in per cent of total load | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 70 | 90 |
| Live load in per cent of total load | 90 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 50 | 30 | 10 |
| Ratio of live to dead load | 9 | 4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.43 | 0.10 |
| Excess of deflection and stress due to moving load per cent | 23 | 13 | 8 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 1.6 | 0.3 |
These results are for the centre deflections of main girders, but Stone infers that the augmentation of stress for any member, due to causes included in impact allowance, will be the same percentage for the same ratios of live to dead load stresses. Valuable measurements of the deformations of girders and tension members due to moving trains have been made by S.W. Robinson (Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. xvi.) and by F.E. Turneaure (Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. xli.). The latter used a recording deflectometer and two recording extensometers. The observations are difficult, and the inertia of the instrument is liable to cause error, but much care was taken. The most striking conclusions from the results are that the locomotive balance weights have a large effect in causing vibration, and next, that in certain cases the vibrations are cumulative, reaching a value greater than that due to any single impact action. Generally: (1) At speeds less than 25 m. an hour there is not much vibration. (2) The increase of deflection due to impact at 40 or 50 m. an hour is likely to reach 40 to 50% for girder spans of less than 50 ft. (3) This percentage decreases rapidly for longer spans, becoming about 25% for 75-ft. spans. (4) The increase per cent of boom stresses due to impact is about the same as that of deflection; that in web bracing bars is rather greater. (5) Speed of train produces no effect on the mean deflection, but only on the magnitude of the vibrations.
A purely empirical allowance for impact stresses has been proposed, amounting to 20% of the live load stresses for floor stringers; 15% for floor cross girders; and for main girders, 10% for 40-ft. spans, and 5% for 100-ft. spans. These percentages are added to the live load stresses.
iii. Dead Load.—The dead load consists of the weight of main girders, flooring and wind-bracing. It is generally reckoned to be uniformly distributed, but in large spans the distribution of weight in the main girders should be calculated and taken into account. The weight of the bridge flooring depends on the type adopted. Road bridges vary so much in the character of the flooring that no general rule can be given. In railway bridges the weight of sleepers, rails, &c., is 0.2 to 0.25 tons per ft. run for each line of way, while the rail girders, cross girders, &c., weigh 0.15 to 0.2 tons. If a footway is added about 0.4 ton per ft. run may be allowed for this. The weight of main girders increases with the span, and there is for any type of bridge a limiting span beyond which the dead load stresses exceed the assigned limit of working stress.
Let Wl be the total live load, Wf the total flooring load on a bridge of span l, both being considered for the present purpose to be uniform per ft. run. Let k(Wl+Wf) be the weight of main girders designed to carry Wl+Wf, but not their own weight in addition. Then
Wg = (Wl+Wf)(k+k2+k3 ...)
will be the weight of main girders to carry Wl+Wf and their own weight (Buck, Proc. Inst. C.E. lxvii. p. 331). Hence,
Wg = (Wl+Wf)k/(1-k).
Since in designing a bridge Wl+Wf is known, k(Wl+Wf) can be found from a provisional design in which the weight Wg is neglected. The actual bridge must have the section of all members greater than those in the provisional design in the ratio k/(1-k).
Waddell (De Pontibus) gives the following convenient empirical relations. Let w1, w2 be the weights of main girders per ft. run for a live load p per ft. run and spans l1, l2. Then
w2/w1 = ½ [l2/l1+(l2/l1)2].
Now let w1′, w2′ be the girder weights per ft. run for spans l1, l2, and live loads p′ per ft. run. Then
w2′/w2 = 1/5(1+4p′/p)
w2′/w1 = 1/10[l2/l1+(l2/l1)2](1+4p′/p)
A partially rational approximate formula for the weight of main girders is the following (Unwin, Wrought Iron Bridges and Roofs, 1869, p. 40):—
Let w = total live load per ft. run of girder; w2 the weight of platform per ft. run; w3 the weight of main girders per ft. run, all in tons; l = span in ft.; s = average stress in tons per sq. in. on gross section of metal; d = depth of girder at centre in ft.; r = ratio of span to depth of girder so that r = l/d. Then
w3 = (w1+w2)l2/(Cds-l2) = (w1+w2)lr/(Cs-lr),
where C is a constant for any type of girder. It is not easy to fix the average stress s per sq. in. of gross section. Hence the formula is more useful in the form
w = (w1+w2)l2/(Kd-l2) = (w1+w2)lr/(K-lr)
where K = (w1+w2+w3)lr/w3 is to be deduced from the data of some bridge previously designed with the same working stresses. From some known examples, C varies from 1500 to 1800 for iron braced parallel or bowstring girders, and from 1200 to 1500 for similar girders of steel. K = 6000 to 7200 for iron and = 7200 to 9000 for steel bridges.
iv. Wind Pressure.—Much attention has been given to wind action since the disaster to the Tay bridge in 1879. As to the maximum wind pressure on small plates normal to the wind, there is not much doubt. Anemometer observations show that pressures of 30 lb per sq. ft. occur in storms annually in many localities, and that occasionally higher pressures are recorded in exposed positions. Thus at Bidstone, Liverpool, where the gauge has an exceptional exposure, a pressure of 80 lb per sq. ft. has been observed. In tornadoes, such as that at St Louis in 1896, it has been calculated, from the stability of structures overturned, that pressures of 45 to 90 lb per sq. ft. must have been reached. As to anemometer pressures, it should be observed that the recorded pressure is made up of a positive front and negative (vacuum) back pressure, but in structures the latter must be absent or only partially developed. Great difference of opinion exists as to whether on large surfaces the average pressure per sq. ft. is as great as on small surfaces, such as anemometer plates. The experiments of Sir B. Baker at the Forth bridge showed that on a surface 30 ft. × 15 ft. the intensity of pressure was less than on a similarly exposed anemometer plate. In the case of bridges there is the further difficulty that some surfaces partially
shield other surfaces; one girder, for instance, shields the girder behind it (see Brit. Assoc. Report, 1884). In 1881 a committee of the Board of Trade decided that the maximum wind pressure on a vertical surface in Great Britain should be assumed in designing structures to be 56 lb per sq. ft. For a plate girder bridge of less height than the train, the wind is to be taken to act on a surface equal to the projected area of one girder and the exposed part of a train covering the bridge. In the case of braced girder bridges, the wind pressure is taken as acting on a continuous surface extending from the rails to the top of the carriages, plus the vertical projected area of so much of one girder as is exposed above the train or below the rails. In addition, an allowance is made for pressure on the leeward girder according to a scale. The committee recommended that a factor of safety of 4 should be taken for wind stresses. For safety against overturning they considered a factor of 2 sufficient. In the case of bridges not subject to Board of Trade inspection, the allowance for wind pressure varies in different cases. C. Shaler Smith allows 300 lb per ft. run for the pressure on the side of a train, and in addition 30 lb per sq. ft. on twice the vertical projected area of one girder, treating the pressure on the train as a travelling load. In the case of bridges of less than 50 ft. span he also provides strength to resist a pressure of 50 lb per sq. ft. on twice the vertical projection of one truss, no train being supposed to be on the bridge.
19. Stresses Permitted.—For a long time engineers held the convenient opinion that, if the total dead and live load stress on any section of a structure (of iron) did not exceed 5 tons per sq. in., ample safety was secured. It is no longer possible to design by so simple a rule. In an interesting address to the British Association in 1885, Sir B. Baker described the condition of opinion as to the safe limits of stress as chaotic. "The old foundations," he said, "are shaken, and engineers have not come to an agreement respecting the rebuilding of the structure. The variance in the strength of existing bridges is such as to be apparent to the educated eye without any calculation. In the present day engineers are in accord as to the principles of estimating the magnitude of the stresses on the members of a structure, but not so in proportioning the members to resist those stresses. The practical result is that a bridge which would be passed by the English Board of Trade would require to be strengthened 5% in some parts and 60% in others, before it would be accepted by the German government, or by any of the leading railway companies in America." Sir B. Baker then described the results of experiments on repetition of stress, and added that "hundreds of existing bridges which carry twenty trains a day with perfect safety would break down quickly under twenty trains an hour. This fact was forced on my attention nearly twenty-five years ago by the fracture of a number of girders of ordinary strength under a five-minutes' train service."
Practical experience taught engineers that though 5 tons per sq. in. for iron, or 6½ tons per sq. in. for steel, was safe or more than safe for long bridges with large ratio of dead to live load, it was not safe for short ones in which the stresses are mainly due to live load, the weight of the bridge being small. The experiments of A. Wöhler, repeated by Johann Bauschinger, Sir B. Baker and others, show that the breaking stress of a bar is not a fixed quantity, but depends on the range of variation of stress to which it is subjected, if that variation is repeated a very large number of times. Let K be the breaking strength of a bar per unit of section, when it is loaded once gradually to breaking. This may be termed the statical breaking strength. Let kmax. be the breaking strength of the same bar when subjected to stresses varying from kmax. to kmin. alternately and repeated an indefinitely great number of times; kmin. is to be reckoned + if of the same kind as kmax. and - if of the opposite kind (tension or thrust). The range of stress is therefore kmax.-kmin., if the stresses are both of the same kind, and kmax.+kmin., if they are of opposite kinds. Let Δ = kmax. ± kmin. = the range of stress, where Δ is always positive. Then Wöhler's results agree closely with the rule,
kmax. = ½Δ+√(K²-nΔK),
where n is a constant which varies from 1.3 to 2 in various qualities of iron and steel. For ductile iron or mild steel it may be taken as 1.5. For a statical load, range of stress nil, Δ = 0, kmax. = K, the statical breaking stress. For a bar so placed that it is alternately loaded and the load removed, Δ = kmax. and kmax. = 0.6 K. For a bar subjected to alternate tension and compression of equal amount, Δ = 2 fmax. and kmax. = 0.33 K. The safe working stress in these different cases is kmax. divided by the factor of safety. It is sometimes said that a bar is "fatigued" by repeated straining. The real nature of the action is not well understood, but the word fatigue may be used, if it is not considered to imply more than that the breaking stress under repetition of loading diminishes as the range of variation increases.
It was pointed out as early as 1869 (Unwin, Wrought Iron Bridges and Roofs) that a rational method of fixing the working stress, so far as knowledge went at that time, would be to make it depend on the ratio of live to dead load, and in such a way that the factor of safety for the live load stresses was double that for the dead load stresses. Let A be the dead load and B the live load, producing stress in a bar; ρ = B/A the ratio of live to dead load; f1 the safe working limit of stress for a bar subjected to a dead load only and f the safe working stress in any other case. Then
f1 (A+B)/(A+2B) = f1(1+ρ)/(1+2ρ).
The following table gives values of f so computed on the assumption that f1 = 7½ tons per sq. in. for iron and 9 tons per sq. in. for steel.
Working Stress for combined Dead and Live Load. Factor of Safety twice as great for Live Load as for Dead Load.
Ratio | 1+ρ | Values of f, tons per sq. in. | ||
Iron. | Mild Steel. | |||
All dead load | 0 | 1.00 | 7.5 | 9.0 |
.25 | 0.83 | 6.2 | 7.5 | |
.50 | 0.75 | 5.6 | 6.8 | |
.66 | 0.71 | 5.3 | 6.4 | |
Live load = Dead load | 1.00 | 0.66 | 4.9 | 5.9 |
2.00 | 0.60 | 4.5 | 5.4 | |
4.00 | 0.56 | 4.2 | 5.0 | |
All live load | ∞ | 0.50 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
Bridge sections designed by this rule differ little from those designed by formulae based directly on Wöhler's experiments. This rule has been revived in America, and appears to be increasingly relied on in bridge-designing. (See Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. xli. p. 156.)
The method of J.J. Weyrauch and W. Launhardt, based on an empirical expression for Wöhler's law, has been much used in bridge designing (see Proc. Inst. C.E. lxiii. p. 275). Let t be the statical breaking strength of a bar, loaded once gradually up to fracture (t = breaking load divided by original area of section); u the breaking strength of a bar loaded and unloaded an indefinitely great number of times, the stress varying from u to 0 alternately (this is termed the primitive strength); and, lastly, let s be the breaking strength of a bar subjected to an indefinitely great number of repetitions of stresses equal and opposite in sign (tension and thrust), so that the stress ranges alternately from s to -s. This is termed the vibration strength. Wöhler's and Bauschinger's experiments give values of t, u, and s, for some materials. If a bar is subjected to alternations of stress having the range Δ = fmax.-fmin., then, by Wöhler's law, the bar will ultimately break, if
fmax. = FΔ, . . . (1)
where F is some unknown function. Launhardt found that, for stresses always of the same kind, F = (t-u)/(t-fmax.) approximately agreed with experiment. For stresses of different kinds Weyrauch found F = (u-s)/(2u-s-fmax.) to be similarly approximate. Now let fmax./fmin. = φ, where φ is + or - according as the stresses are of the same or opposite signs. Putting the values of F in (1) and solving for fmax., we get for the breaking stress of a bar subjected to repetition of varying stress,
fmax. = u(1+(t-u)φ/u) [Stresses of same sign.]
fmax. = u(1+(u-s)φ/u) [Stresses of opposite sign.]
The working stress in any case is fmax. divided by a factor of safety. Let that factor be 3. Then Wöhler's results for iron and Bauschinger's for steel give the following equations for tension or thrust:—
Iron, working stress, f = 4.4 (1+½φ)
Steel, working stress, f = 5.87 (1+½φ).
In these equations φ is to have its + or - value according to the case considered. For shearing stresses the working stress may have 0.8 of its value for tension. The following table gives values of the working stress calculated by these equations:—
Working Stress for Tension or Thrust by Launhardt and Weyrauch Formula.
φ | 1+φ/2 | Working Stress f, tons per sq. in. | ||
Iron. | Steel. | |||
All dead load | 1.0 | 1.5 | 6.60 | 8.80 |
0.75 | 1.375 | 6.05 | 8.07 | |
0.50 | 1.25 | 5.50 | 7.34 | |
0.25 | 1.125 | 4.95 | 6.60 | |
All live load | 0.00 | 1.00 | 4.40 | 5.87 |
-0.25 | 0.875 | 3.85 | 5.14 | |
-0.50 | 0.75 | 3.30 | 4.40 | |
-0.75 | 0.625 | 2.75 | 3.67 | |
Equal stresses + and - | -1.00 | 0.500 | 2.20 | 2.93 |
To compare this with the previous table, φ = (A+B)/A = 1+ρ. Except when the limiting stresses are of opposite sign, the two tables agree very well. In bridge work this occurs only in some of the bracing bars.
It is a matter of discussion whether, if fatigue is allowed for by the Weyrauch method, an additional allowance should be made for impact. There was no impact in Wöhler's experiments, and therefore it would seem rational to add the impact allowance to that for fatigue; but in that case the bridge sections become larger than experience shows to be necessary. Some engineers escape this difficulty by asserting that Wöhler's results are not applicable to bridge work. They reject the allowance for fatigue (that is, the effect of repetition) and design bridge members for the total dead and live load, plus a large allowance for impact varied according to some purely empirical rule. (See Waddell, De Pontibus, p.7.) Now in applying Wöhler's law, fmax. for any bridge member is found for the maximum possible live load, a live load which though it may sometimes come on the bridge and must therefore be provided for, is not the usual live load to which the bridge is subjected. Hence the range of stress, fmax.-fmin., from which the working stress is deduced, is not the ordinary range of stress which is repeated a practically infinite number of times, but is a range of stress to which the bridge is subjected only at comparatively long intervals. Hence practically it appears probable that the allowance for fatigue made in either of the tables above is sufficient to cover the ordinary effects of impact also.
English bridge-builders are somewhat hampered in adopting rational limits of working stress by the rules of the Board of Trade. Nor do they all accept the guidance of Wöhler's law. The following are some examples of limits adopted. For the Dufferin bridge (steel) the working stress was taken at 6.5 tons per sq. in. in bottom booms and diagonals, 6.0 tons in top booms, 5.0 tons in verticals and long compression members. For the Stanley bridge at Brisbane the limits were 6.5 tons per sq. in. in compression boom, 7.0 tons in tension boom, 5.0 tons in vertical struts, 6.5 tons in diagonal ties, 8.0 tons in wind bracing, and 6.5 tons in cross and rail girders. In the new Tay bridge the limit of stress is generally 5 tons per sq. in., but in members in which the stress changes sign 4 tons per sq. in. In the Forth bridge for members in which the stress varied from 0 to a maximum frequently, the limit was 5.0 tons per sq. in., or if the stress varied rarely 5.6 tons per sq. in.; for members subjected to alternations of tension and thrust frequently 3.3 tons per sq. in. or 5 tons per sq. in. if the alternations were infrequent. The shearing area of rivets in tension members was made 1½ times the useful section of plate in tension. For compression members the shearing area of rivets in butt-joints was made half the useful section of plate in compression.
20. Determination of Stresses in the Members of Bridges.—It is convenient to consider beam girder or truss bridges, and it is the stresses in the main girders which primarily require to be determined. A main girder consists of an upper and lower flange, boom or chord and a vertical web. The loading forces to be considered are vertical, the horizontal forces due to wind pressure are treated separately and provided for by a horizontal system of bracing. For practical purposes it is accurate enough to consider the booms or chords as carrying exclusively the horizontal tension and compression and the web as resisting the whole of the vertical and, in a plate web, the equal horizontal shearing forces. Let fig. 37 represent a beam with any system of loads W1, W2, ... Wn.
The reaction at the right abutment is
R2 = W1x1/l+W2x2/l+...
That at the left abutment is
R1 = W1+W2+...-R2.
Consider any section a b. The total shear at a b is
S = R-∑(W1+W2 ...)
where the summation extends to all the loads to the left of the section. Let p1, p2 ... be the distances of the loads from a b, and p the distance of R1 from a b; then the bending moment at a b is
M = R1p-∑(W1p1+W2p2 ...)
where the summation extends to all the loads to the left of a b. If the loads on the right of the section are considered the expressions are similar and give the same results.
If At Ac are the cross sections of the tension and compression flanges or chords, and h the distance between their mass centres, then on the assumption that they resist all the direct horizontal forces the total stress on each flange is
Ht = Hc = M/h
and the intensity of stress of tension or compression is
ft = M/Ath,
fc = M/Ach.
If A is the area of the plate web in a vertical section, the intensity of shearing stress is
fx = S/A
and the intensity on horizontal sections is the same. If the web is a braced web, then the vertical component of the stress in the web bars cut by the section must be equal to S.
21. Method of Sections. A. Ritter's Method.—In the case of braced structures the following method is convenient: When a section of a girder can be taken cutting only three bars, the stresses in the bars can be found by taking moments. In fig. 38 m n cuts three bars, and the forces in the three bars cut by the section are C, S and T. There are to the left of the section the external forces, R, W1, W2. Let s be the perpendicular from O, the join of C and T on the direction of S; t the perpendicular from A, the join of C and S on the direction of T; and c the perpendicular from B, the join of S and T on the direction of C. Taking moments about O,
Rx-W1(x+a)-W2(x+2a) = Ss;
taking moments about A,
R3a-W12a-W2a = Tt;
and taking moments about B,
R2a-W1a = Cc
Or generally, if M1 M2 M3 are the moments of the external forces to the left of O, A, and B respectively, and s, t and c the perpendiculars from O, A and B on the directions of the forces cut by the section, then
Ss = M1; Tt = M2 and Cc = M3.
Still more generally if H is the stress on any bar, h the perpendicular distance from the join of the other two bars cut by the section, and M is the moment of the forces on one side of that join,
Hh = M.
22. Distribution of Bending Moment and Shearing Force.—Let a girder of span l, fig. 39, supported at the ends, carry a fixed load W at m from the right abutment. The reactions at the abutments are R1 = Wm/l and R2 = W(l-m)/l. The shears on vertical sections to the left and right of the load are R1 and -R2, and the distribution of shearing force is given by two rectangles. Bending moment increases uniformly from either abutment to the load, at which the bending moment is M = R2m = R1(l-m). The distribution of bending moment is given by the ordinates of a triangle. Next let the girder carry a uniform load w per ft. run (fig. 40). The total load
is wl; the reactions at abutments, R1 = R2 = ½wl. The distribution of shear on vertical sections is given by the ordinates of a sloping line. The greatest bending moment is at the centre and = Mc = ⅛wl2. At any point x from the abutment, the bending moment is M = ½wx(l-x), an equation to a parabola.
23. Shear due to Travelling Loads.—Let a uniform train weighing w per ft. run advance over a girder of span 2c, from the left abutment. When it covers the girder to a distance x from the centre (fig. 41) the total load is w(c+x); the reaction at B is
| R2 = w(c+x)× | c+x 4c | = | w 4c | (c+x)², |
which is also the shearing force at C for that position of the load. As the load travels, the shear at the head of the train will be given by the ordinates of a parabola having its vertex at A, and a maximum Fmax. = -½wl at B. If the load travels the reverse way, the shearing force at the head of the train is given by the ordinates of the dotted parabola. The greatest shear at C for any position of the load occurs when the head of the train is at C. For any load p between C and B will increase the reaction at B and therefore the shear at C by part of p, but at the same time will diminish the shear at C by the whole of p. The web of a girder must resist the maximum shear, and, with a travelling load like a railway train, this is greater for partial than for complete loading. Generally a girder supports both a dead and a live load. The distribution of total shear, due to a dead load wl per ft. run and a travelling load wl per ft. run, is shown in fig. 42, arranged so that the dead load shear is added to the maximum travelling load shear of the same sign.
24. Counterbracing.—In the case of girders with braced webs, the tension bars of which are not adapted to resist a thrust, another circumstance due to the position of the live load must be considered. For a train advancing from the left, the travelling load shear in the left half of the span is of a different sign from that due to the dead load. Fig. 43 shows the maximum shear at vertical sections due to a dead and travelling load, the latter advancing (fig. 43, a) from the left and (fig. 43, b) from the right abutment. Comparing the figures it will be seen that over a distance x near the middle of the girder the shear changes sign, according as the load advances from the left or the right. The bracing bars, therefore, for this part of the girder must be adapted to resist either tension or thrust. Further, the range of stress to which they are subjected is the sum of the stresses due to the load advancing from the left or the right.
25. Greatest Shear when concentrated Loads travel over the Bridge.—To find the greatest shear with a set of concentrated loads at fixed distances, let the loads advance from the left abutment, and let C be the section at which the shear is required (fig. 44). The greatest shear at C may occur with W1 at C. If W1 passes beyond C, the shear at C will probably be greatest when W2 is at C. Let R be the resultant of the loads on the bridge when W1 is at C. Then the reaction at B and shear at C is Rn/l. Next let the loads advance a distance a so that W2 comes to C. Then the shear at C is R(n+a)/l-W1, plus any reaction d at B, due to any additional load which has come on the girder during the movement. The shear will therefore be increased by bringing W2 to C, if Ra/l+d > W1 and d is generally small and negligible. This result is modified if the action of the load near the section is distributed to the bracing intersections by rail and cross girders. In fig. 45 the action of W is distributed to A and B by the flooring. Then the loads at A and B are W(p-x)/p and Wx/p. Now let C (fig. 46) be the section at which the greatest shear is required, and let the loads advance from the left till W1 is at C. If R is the resultant of the loads then on the girder, the reaction at B and shear at C is Rn/l. But the shear may be greater when W2 is at C. In that case the shear at C becomes R(n+a)/l+d-W1, if a > p, and R(n+a)/l+d-W1a/p, if a < p. If we neglect d, then the shear increases by moving W2 to C, if Ra/l > W1 in the first case, and if Ra/l > W1a/p in the second case.
26. Greatest Bending Moment due to travelling concentrated Loads.—For the greatest bending moment due to a travelling live load, let a load of w per ft. run advance from the left abutment (fig. 47), and let its centre be at x from the left abutment. The reaction at B is 2wx²/l and the bending moment at any section C, at m from the left abutment, is 2wx²/(l-m)/l, which increases as x increases till the span is covered. Hence, for uniform travelling loads, the bending moments are greatest when the loading is complete. In that case the loads on either side of C are proportional to m and l-m. In the case of a series of travelling loads at fixed distances apart passing over the girder from the left, let W1, W2 (fig. 48), at distances x and x+a from the left abutment, be their resultants on either side of C. Then the reaction at B is W1x/l+W2(x+a)/l. The bending moment at C is
M = W1x(l-m)/l+W2m{1-(x+a)/l}.
If the loads are moved a distance ∆x to the right, the bending moment becomes
M+∆M = W1(x+∆x)(l-m)/l+W2m{1-(x+∆x+a)/l}
∆m = W1∆x(l-m)/l-W2∆xm/l,
and this is positive or the bending moment increases, if W1(l-m) > W2m, or if W1/m > W2/(l-m). But these are the average loads per ft. run to the left and right of C. Hence, if the average load to the left of a section is greater than that to the right, the bending moment at the section will be increased by moving the loads to the right, and vice versa. Hence the maximum bending moment at C for a series of travelling loads will occur when the average load is the same on either side of C. If one of the loads is at C, spread over a very small distance in the neighbourhood of C, then a very small displacement of the loads will permit the fulfilment of the condition. Hence the criterion for the position of the loads which makes the moment at C greatest is this: one load must be at C, and the other loads must be distributed, so that the average loads per ft. on either side of C (the load at C being neglected) are nearly equal. If the loads are very unequal in magnitude or distance this condition may be satisfied for more than one position of the loads, but it is not difficult to ascertain which position gives the maximum moment. Generally one of the largest of the loads must be at C with as many others to right and left as is consistent with that condition.
This criterion may be stated in another way. The greatest bending moment will occur with one of the greatest loads at the section, and when this further condition is satisfied. Let fig. 49 represent a beam with the series of loads travelling from the right. Let a b be
the section considered, and let Wx be the load at a b when the bending moment there is greatest, and Wn the last load to the right then on the bridge. Then the position of the loads must be that which satisfies the condition
| x l | greater than | W1+W2+... Wx-1 W1+W2+... Wn |
| x l | less than | W1+W2+... Wx W1+W2+... Wn |
Fig. 50 shows the curve of bending moment under one of a series of travelling loads at fixed distances. Let W1, W2, W3 traverse the girder from the left at fixed distances a, b. For the position shown the distribution of bending moment due to W1 is given by ordinates of the triangle A′CB′; that due to W2 by ordinates of A′DB′; and that due to W3 by ordinates A′EB′. The total moment at W1, due to three loads, is the sum mC+mn+mo of the intercepts which the triangle sides cut off from the vertical under W1. As the loads move over the girder, the points C, D, E describe the parabolas M1, M2, M3, the middle ordinates of which are ¼W1l, ¼W2l, and ¼W3l. If these are first drawn it is easy, for any position of the loads, to draw the lines B′C, B′D, B′E, and to find the sum of the intercepts which is the total bending moment under a load. The lower portion of the figure is the curve of bending moments under the leading load. Till W1 has advanced a distance a only one load is on the girder, and the curve A″F gives bending moments due to W1 only; as W1 advances to a distance a+b, two loads are on the girder, and the curve FG gives moments due to W1 and W2. GB″ is the curve of moments for all three loads W1+W2+W3.
Fig. 51 shows maximum bending moment curves for an extreme case of a short bridge with very unequal loads. The three lightly dotted parabolas are the curves of maximum moment for each of the loads taken separately. The three heavily dotted curves are curves of maximum moment under each of the loads, for the three loads passing over the bridge, at the given distances, from left to right. As might be expected, the moments are greatest in this case at the sections under the 15-ton load. The heavy continuous line gives the last-mentioned curve for the reverse direction of passage of the loads.
With short bridges it is best to draw the curve of maximum bending moments for some assumed typical set of loads in the way just described, and to design the girder accordingly. For longer bridges the funicular polygon affords a method of determining maximum bending moments which is perhaps more convenient. But very great accuracy in drawing this curve is unnecessary, because the rolling stock of railways varies so much that the precise magnitude and distribution of the loads which will pass over a bridge cannot be known. All that can be done is to assume a set of loads likely to produce somewhat severer straining than any probable actual rolling loads. Now, except for very short bridges and very unequal loads, a parabola can be found which includes the curve of maximum moments. This parabola is the curve of maximum moments for a travelling load uniform per ft. run. Let we be the load per ft. run which would produce the maximum moments represented by this parabola. Then we may be termed the uniform load per ft. equivalent to any assumed set of concentrated loads. Waddell has calculated tables of such equivalent uniform loads. But it is not difficult to find we, approximately enough for practical purposes, very simply. Experience shows that (a) a parabola having the same ordinate at the centre of the span, or (b) a parabola having the same ordinate at one-quarter span as the curve of maximum moments, agrees with it closely enough for practical designing. A criterion already given shows the position of any set of loads which will produce the greatest bending moment at the centre of the bridge, or at one-quarter span. Let Mc and Ma be those moments. At a section distant x from the centre of a girder of span 2c, the bending moment due to a uniform load we per ft run is
M = ½we(c-x)(c+x).
Putting x = 0, for the centre section
Mc = ½wec2;
and putting x = ½c, for section at quarter span
Ma = ⅜wec2.
From these equations a value of we can be obtained. Then the bridge is designed, so far as the direct stresses are concerned, for bending moments due to a uniform dead load and the uniform equivalent load we.
27. Influence Lines.—In dealing with the action of travelling loads much assistance may be obtained by using a line termed an influence line. Such a line has for abscissa the distance of a load from one end of a girder, and for ordinate the bending moment or shear at any given section, or on any member, due to that load. Generally the influence line is drawn for unit load. In fig. 52 let A′B′ be a girder supported at the ends and let it be required to investigate the bending moment at C′ due to unit load in any position on the girder. When the load is at F′, the reaction at B′ is m/l and the moment at C′ is m(l-x)/l, which will be reckoned positive, when it resists a tendency of the right-hand part of the girder to turn counter-clockwise. Projecting A′F′C′B′ on to the horizontal AB, take Ff = m(l-x)/l, the moment at C of unit load at F. If this process is repeated for all positions of the load, we get the influence line AGB for the bending moment at C. The area AGB is termed the influence area. The greatest moment CG at C is x(l-x)/l. To use this line to investigate the maximum moment at C due to a series of travelling loads at fixed distances, let P1, P2, P3, ... be the loads which at the moment considered are at distances m1, m2, ... from the left abutment. Set off these distances along AB and let y1, y2, ... be the corresponding ordinates of the influence curve (y = Ff) on the verticals under the loads. Then the moment at C due to all the loads is
M = P1y1+P2y2+...
The position of the loads which gives the greatest moment at C may be settled by the criterion given above. For a uniform travelling load w per ft. of span, consider a small interval Fk = ∆m on which the load is w∆m. The moment due to this, at C, is wm(l-x)∆m/l. But m(l-x)∆m/l is the area of the strip Ffhk, that is y∆m. Hence the moment of the load on ∆m at C is wy∆m, and the moment of a uniform load over any portion of the girder is w × the area of the influence curve under that portion. If the scales are so chosen that a inch represents 1 in. ton of moment, and b inch represents 1 ft. of span, and w is in tons per ft. run, then ab is the unit of area in measuring the influence curve.
If the load is carried by a rail girder (stringer) with cross girders at the intersections of bracing and boom, its effect is distributed to the bracing intersections D′E′ (fig. 53), and the part of the influence line for that bay (panel) is altered. With unit load in the position shown, the load at D′ is (p-n)/p, and that at E′ is n/p. The moment of the load at C is m(l-x)/l-n(p-n)/p. This is the equation to the dotted line RS (fig. 52).
If the unit load is at F′, the reaction at B′ and the shear at C′ is m/l, positive if the shearing stress resists a tendency of the part of the girder on the right to move upwards; set up Ff = m/l (fig. 54) on the vertical under the load. Repeating the process for other positions, we get the influence line AGHB, for the shear at C due to unit load anywhere on the girder. GC = x/l and CH = -(l-x)/l. The lines AG, HB are parallel. If the load is in the bay D′E′ and is carried by a rail girder which distributes it to cross girders at D′E′, the part of the influence line under this bay is altered. Let n (Fig. 55) be the distance of the load from D′, x1 the distance of D′ from the left abutment, and p the length of a bay. The loads at D′, E, due to unit weight on the rail girder are (p-n)/p and n/p. The reaction at B′ is {(p-n)x1+n(x1+p)}/pl. The shear at C′ is the reaction at B′ less the load at E′, that is, {p(x1+n)-nl}/pl, which is the equation to the line DH (fig. 54). Clearly, the distribution of the load by the rail girder considerably alters the distribution of shear due to a load in the bay in which the section considered lies. The total shear due to a series of loads P1, P2, ... at distances m1, m2, ... from the left abutment, y1, y2, ... being the ordinates of the influence curve under the loads, is S = P1y1+P2y2+.... Generally, the greatest shear S at C will occur when the longer of the segments into which C divides the girder is fully loaded and the other is unloaded, the leading load being at C. If the loads are very unequal or unequally spaced, a trial or two will determine which position gives the greatest value of S. The greatest shear at C′ of the opposite sign to that due to the loading of the longer segment occurs with the shorter segment loaded. For a uniformly distributed load w per ft. run the shear at C is w × the area of the influence curve under the segment covered by the load, attention being paid to the sign of the area of the curve. If the load rests directly on the main girder, the greatest + and - shears at C will be w × AGC and -w × CHB. But if the load is distributed to the bracing intersections by rail and cross girders, then the shear at C′ will be greatest when the load extends to N, and will have the values w × ADN and -w × NEB. An interesting paper by F.C. Lea, dealing with the determination of stress due to concentrated loads, by the method of influence lines will be found in Proc. Inst. C.E. clxi. p.261.
Influence lines were described by Fränkel, Der Civilingenieur, 1876. See also Handbuch der Ingenieur-wissenschaften, vol. ii. ch. x. (1882), and Levy, La Statique graphique (1886). There is a useful paper by Prof. G.F. Swain (Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. xvii., 1887), and another by L.M. Hoskins (Proc. Am. Soc. C.E. xxv., 1899).
28. Eddy's Method.—Another method of investigating the maximum shear at a section due to any distribution of a travelling load has been given by Prof. H.T. Eddy (Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. xxii., 1890). Let hk (fig. 56) represent in magnitude and position a load W, at x from the left abutment, on a girder AB of span l. Lay off kf, hg, horizontal and equal to l. Join f and g to h and k. Draw verticals at A, B, and join no. Obviously no is horizontal and equal to l. Also mn/mf = hk/kf or mn-W(l-x)/l, which is the reaction at A due to the load at C, and is the shear at any point of AC. Similarly, po is the reaction at B and shear at any point of CB. The shaded rectangles represent the distribution of shear due to the load at C, while no may be termed the datum line of shear. Let the load move to D, so that its distance from the left abutment is x+a. Draw a vertical at D, intersecting fh, kg, in s and q. Then qr/ro = hk/hg or ro = W(l-x-a)/l, which is the reaction at A and shear at any point of AD, for the new position of the load. Similarly, rs = W(x+a)/l is the shear on DB. The distribution of shear is given by the partially shaded rectangles. For the application of this method to a series of loads Prof. Eddy's paper must be referred to.
29. Economic Span.—In the case of a bridge of many spans, there is a length of span which makes the cost of the bridge least. The cost of abutments and bridge flooring is practically independent of the length of span adopted. Let P be the cost of one pier; C the cost of the main girders for one span, erected; n the number of spans; l the length of one span, and L the length of the bridge between abutments. Then, n = L/l nearly. Cost of piers (n-1)P. Cost of main girders nG. The cost of a pier will not vary materially with the span adopted. It depends mainly on the character of the foundations and height at which the bridge is carried. The cost of the main girders for one span will vary nearly as the square of the span for any given type of girder and intensity of live load. That is, G = al², where a is a constant. Hence the total cost of that part of the bridge which varies with the span adopted is—
C = (n-i)P+nal²
= LP/l-P+Lal.
Differentiating and equating to zero, the cost is least when
| dC dl | = | -LP l² | +La = 0, |
P = al² = G;
that is, when the cost of one pier is equal to the cost erected of the main girders of one span. Sir Guilford Molesworth puts this in a convenient but less exact form. Let G be the cost of superstructure of a 100-ft. span erected, and P the cost of one pier with its protection. Then the economic span is l = 100√P/√G.
30. Limiting Span.—If the weight of the main girders of a bridge, per ft. run in tons, is—
w3 = (w1+w2)lr/(K-lr)
according to a formula already given, then w3 becomes infinite if k-lr = 0, or if
l = K/r,
where l is the span in feet and r is the ratio of span to depth of girder at centre. Taking K for steel girders as 7200 to 9000,
| Limiting Span in Ft. | |
| r = 12 | l = 600 to 750 |
| r = 10 | l = 720 to 900 |
| r = 8 | l = 900 to 1120 |
The practical limit of span would be less than this. Professor Claxton Fidier (Treatise on Bridge Construction, 1887) has made a very careful theoretical analysis of the weights of bridges of different types, and has obtained the following values for the limiting spans. For parallel girders when r = 10, the limiting span is 1070 ft. For parabolic or bowstring girders, when r = 8, the limiting span is 1280 ft. For flexible suspension bridges with wrought iron link chains, and dip = 1/10th of the span, the limiting span is 2800 ft. For stiffened suspension bridges with wire cables, if the dip is 1/10th of the span the limiting span is 2700 to 3600 ft., and if the dip is 1/8th of the span, 3250 to 4250 ft., according to the factor of safety allowed.
31. Braced Girders.—A frame is a rigid structure composed of straight struts and ties. The struts and ties are called bracing bars. The frame as a whole may be subject to a bending moment, but each member is simply extended or compressed so that the total stress on a given member is the same at all its cross sections, while the intensity of stress is uniform for all the parts of any one cross section. This result must follow in any frame, the members of which are so connected that the joints offer little or no resistance to change in the relative angular position of the members. Thus if the members are pinned together, the joint consisting of a single circular pin, the centre of which lies in the axis of the piece, it is clear that the direction of the only stress which can be transmitted from pin to pin will coincide with this axis. The axis becomes, therefore, a line of resistance, and in reasoning of the stresses on frames we may treat the frame as consisting of simple straight lines from joint to joint. It is found in practice that the stresses on the several members do not differ sensibly whether these members are pinned together with a single pin or more rigidly jointed by several bolts or rivets. Frames are much used as girders, and they also give useful designs for suspension and arched bridges. A frame used to support a weight is often called a truss; the stresses on the various members of a truss can be computed for any given load with greater accuracy than the intensity of stress on the various parts of a continuous structure such as a tubular girder, or the rib of an arch. Many assumptions are made in treating of the flexure of a continuous structure which are not strictly true; no assumption is made in determining the stresses on a frame except that the joints are flexible, and that the frame shall be so stiff as not sensibly to alter in form under the load. Frames used as bridge trusses should never be designed so that the elongation or compression of one member can elongate or compress any other member. An example will serve to make the meaning of this limitation clearer. Let a frame consist of the five members AB, BD, DC, CA, CB (fig. 57), jointed at the points A, B, C and D, and all capable of resisting tension and compression. This frame will be rigid, i.e. it cannot be distorted without causing an alteration in the length of one or more of the members; but if from a change of temperature or any other cause one or all of the members change their length, this will not produce a stress on any member, but will merely cause a change in the form of the frame. Such a frame as this cannot be self-strained. A workman, for instance, cannot produce a stress on one member by making some other member of a wrong length. Any error of this kind will merely affect the form of the frame; if, however, another member be introduced between A and D, then if BC be shortened AD will be strained so as to extend it, and the four other members will be compressed; if CB is lengthened AD will thereby be compressed, and the four other members extended; if the workman does not make CB and AD of exactly the right length they and all the members will be permanently strained. These stresses will be unknown quantities, which the designer cannot take into account, and such a combination should if possible be avoided. A frame of this second type is said to have one redundant member.
32. Types of Braced Girder Bridges.—Figs. 58, 59 and 60 show an independent girder, a cantilever, and a cantilever and suspended girder bridge.
In a three-span bridge continuous girders are lighter than discontinuous ones by about 45% for the dead load and 15% for the live load, if no allowance is made for ambiguity due to uncertainty as to the level of the supports. The cantilever and suspended girder types are as economical and free from uncertainty as to the stresses. In long-span bridges the cantilever system permits erection by building out, which is economical and sometimes necessary. It is, however, unstable unless rigidly fixed at the piers. In the Forth bridge stability is obtained partly by the great excess of dead over live load, partly by the great width of the river piers. The majority of bridges not of great span have girders with parallel booms. This involves the fewest difficulties of workmanship and perhaps permits the closest approximation of actual to theoretical dimensions of the parts. In spans over 200 ft. it is economical to have one horizontal boom and one polygonal (approximately parabolic) boom. The hog-backed girder is a compromise between the two types, avoiding some difficulties of construction near the ends of the girder.
Most braced girders may be considered as built up of two simple forms of truss, the king-post truss (fig. 61, a), or the queen-post truss (fig. 61, b). These may be used in either the upright or the inverted position. A multiple truss consists of a number of simple trusses, e.g. Bollman truss. Some timber bridges consist of queen-post trusses in the upright position, as shown diagrammatically in fig. 62, where the circles indicate points at which the flooring girders transmit load to the main girders. Compound trusses consist of simple trusses used as primary, secondary and tertiary trusses, the secondary supported on the primary, and the tertiary on the secondary. Thus, the Fink truss consists of king-post trusses; the Pratt truss (fig. 63) and the Whipple truss (fig. 64) of queen-post trusses alternately upright and inverted.
A combination bridge is built partly of timber, partly of steel, the compression members being generally of timber and the tension members of steel. On the Pacific coast, where excellent timber is obtainable and steel works are distant, combination bridges are still largely used (Ottewell, Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. xxvii. p. 467). The combination bridge at Roseburgh, Oregon, is a cantilever bridge,
The shore arms are 147 ft. span, the river arms 105 ft., and the suspended girder 80 ft., the total distance between anchor piers being 584 ft. The floor beams, floor and railing are of timber. The compression members are of timber, except the struts and bottom chord panels next the river piers, which are of steel. The tension members are of iron and the pins of steel. The chord blocks and post shoes are of cast-iron.
33. Graphic Method of finding the Stresses in Braced Structures.—Fig. 65 shows a common form of bridge truss known as a Warren girder, with lines indicating external forces applied to the joints; half the load carried between the two lower joints next the piers on either side is directly carried by the abutments. The sum of the two upward vertical reactions must clearly be equal to the sum of the loads. The lines in the diagram represent the directions of a series of forces which must all be in equilibrium; these lines may, for an object to be explained in the next paragraph, be conveniently named by the letters in the spaces which they separate instead of by the method usually employed in geometry. Thus we shall call the first inclined line on the left hand the line AG, the line representing the first force on the top left-hand joint AB, the first horizontal member at the top left hand the line BH, &c; similarly each point requires at least three letters to denote it; the top first left-hand joint may be called ABHG, being the point where these four spaces meet. In this method of lettering, every enclosed space must be designated by a letter; all external forces must be represented by lines outside the frame, and each space between any two forces must receive a distinctive letter; this method of lettering was first proposed by O. Henrici and R. H. Bow (Economics of Construction), and is convenient in applying the theory of reciprocal figures to the computation of stresses on frames.
34. Reciprocal Figures.—J. Clerk Maxwell gave (Phil. Mag. 1864) the following definition of reciprocal figures:—"Two plane figures are reciprocal when they consist of an equal number of lines so that corresponding lines in the two figures are parallel, and corresponding lines which converge to a point in one figure form a closed polygon in the other."
Let a frame (without redundant members), and the external forces which keep it in equilibrium, be represented by a diagram constituting one of these two plane figures, then the lines in the other plane figure or the reciprocal will represent in direction and magnitude the forces between the joints of the frame, and, consequently, the stress on each member, as will now be explained.
Reciprocal figures are easily drawn by following definite rules, and afford therefore a simple method of computing the stresses on members of a frame.
The external forces on a frame or bridge in equilibrium under those forces may, by a well-known proposition in statics, be represented by a closed polygon, each side of which is parallel to one force, and represents the force in magnitude as well as in direction. The sides of the polygon may be arranged in any order, provided care is taken so to draw them that in passing round the polygon in one direction this direction may for each side correspond to the direction of the force which it represents.
This polygon of forces may, by a slight extension of the above definition, be called the reciprocal figure of the external forces, if the sides are arranged in the same order as that of the joints on which they act, so that if the joints and forces be numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., passing round the outside of the frame in one direction, and returning at last to joint 1, then in the polygon the side representing the force 2 will be next the side representing the force 1, and will be followed by the side representing the force 3, and so forth. This polygon falls under the definition of a reciprocal figure given by Clerk Maxwell, if we consider the frame as a point in equilibrium under the external forces.
Fig. 66 shows a frame supported at the two end joints, and loaded at each top joint. The loads and the supporting forces are indicated by arrows. Fig. 67a shows the reciprocal figure or polygon for the external forces on the assumption that the reactions are slightly inclined. The lines in fig. 67 a, lettered in the usual manner, correspond to the forces indicated by arrows in fig. 66, and lettered according to Bow's method. When all the forces are vertical, as will be the case in girders, the polygon of external forces will be reduced to two straight lines, fig. 67 b, superimposed and divided so that the length AX represents the load AX, the length AB the load AB, the length YX the reaction YX, and so forth. The line XZ consists of a series of lengths, as XA, AB ... DZ, representing the loads taken in their order. In subsequent diagrams the two reaction lines will, for the sake of clearness, be drawn as if slightly inclined to the vertical.
If there are no redundant members in the frame there will be only two members abutting at the point of support, for these two members will be sufficient to balance the reaction, whatever its direction may be; we can therefore draw two triangles, each having as one side the reaction YX, and having the two other sides parallel to these two members; each of these triangles will represent a polygon of forces in equilibrium at the point of support. Of these two triangles, shown in fig. 67 c, select that in which the letters X and Y are so placed that (naming the apex of the triangle E) the lines XE and YE are the lines parallel to the two members of the same name in the frame (fig. 66). Then the triangle YXE is the reciprocal figure of the three lines YX, XE, EY in the frame, and represents the three forces in equilibrium at the point YXE of the frame. The direction of YX, being a thrust upwards, shows the direction in which we must go round the triangle YXE to find the direction of the two other forces; doing this we find that the force XE must act down towards the point YXE, and the force EY away from the same point. Putting arrows on the frame diagram to indicate the direction of the forces, we see that the member EY must pull and therefore act as a tie, and that the member XE must push and act as a strut. Passing to the point XEFA we find two known forces, the load XA acting downwards, and a push from the strut XE, which, being in compression, must push at both ends, as indicated by the arrow, fig. 66. The directions and magnitudes of these two forces are already drawn (fig. 67 a) in a fitting position to represent part of the polygon of forces at XEFA; beginning with the upward thrust EX, continuing down XA, and drawing AF parallel to AF in the frame we complete the polygon by drawing EF parallel to EF in the frame. The point F is determined by the intersection of the two lines, one beginning at A, and the other at E. We then have the polygon of forces EXAF, the reciprocal figure of the lines meeting at that point in the frame, and representing the forces at the point EXAF; the direction of the forces on EH and XA being known determines the direction of the forces due to the elastic reaction of the members AF and EF, showing AF to push as a strut, while EF is a tie. We have been guided in the selection of the particular quadrilateral adopted by the rule of arranging the order of the sides so that the same letters indicate corresponding sides in the diagram of the frame and its reciprocal. Continuing the construction of the diagram in the same way, we arrive at fig. 67 d as the complete reciprocal figure of the frame and forces upon it, and we see that each line in the reciprocal figure measures the stress on the corresponding member in the frame, and that the polygon of forces acting at any point, as IJKY, in the frame is represented by a polygon of the same name in the reciprocal
figure. The direction of the force in each member is easily ascertained by proceeding in the manner above described. A single known force in a polygon determines the direction of all the others, as these must all correspond with arrows pointing the same way round the polygon. Let the arrows be placed on the frame round each joint, and so as to indicate the direction of each force on that joint; then when two arrows point to one another on the same piece, that piece is a tie; when they point from one another the piece is a strut. It is hardly necessary to say that the forces exerted by the two ends of any one member must be equal and opposite. This method is universally applicable where there are no redundant members. The reciprocal figure for any loaded frame is a complete formula for the stress on every member of a frame of that particular class with loads on given joints.
Consider a Warren girder (fig. 68), loaded at the top and bottom joints. Fig. 69 b is the polygon of external forces, and 69 c is half the reciprocal figure. The complete reciprocal figure is shown in fig. 69 a.
The method of sections already described is often more convenient than the method of reciprocal figures, and the method of influence lines is also often the readiest way of dealing with braced girders.
35. Chain Loaded uniformly along a Horizontal Line.—If the lengths of the links be assumed indefinitely short, the chain under given simple distributions of load will take the form of comparatively simple mathematical curves known as catenaries. The true catenary is that assumed by a chain of uniform weight per unit of length, but the form generally adopted for suspension bridges is that assumed by a chain under a weight uniformly distributed relatively to a horizontal line. This curve is a parabola.
Remembering that in this case the centre bending moment ∑wl will be equal to wL²/8, we see that the horizontal tension H at the vertex for a span L (the points of support being at equal heights) is given by the expression
1 . . . H = wL²/8y,
or, calling x the distance from the vertex to the point of support,
H = wx²/2y,
The value of H is equal to the maximum tension on the bottom flange, or compression on the top flange, of a girder of equal span, equally and similarly loaded, and having a depth equal to the dip of the suspension bridge.
Consider any other point F of the curve, fig. 70, at a distance x from the vertex, the horizontal component of the resultant (tangent to the curve) will be unaltered; the vertical component V will be simply the sum of the loads between O and F, or wx. In the triangle FDC, let FD be tangent to the curve, FC vertical, and DC horizontal; these three sides will necessarily be proportional respectively to the resultant tension along the chain at F, the vertical force V passing through the point D, and the horizontal tension at O; hence
H : V = DC : FC = wx²/2y : wx = x/2 : y,
hence DC is the half of OC, proving the curve to be a parabola.
The value of R, the tension at any point at a distance x from the vertex, is obtained from the equation
R² = H²+V² = w²x4/4y²+w²x²,
or,
2 . . . R = wx√(1+x²/4y²).
Let i be the angle between the tangent at any point having the co-ordinates x and y measured from the vertex, then
3 . . . tan i = 2y/x.
Let the length of half the parabolic chain be called s, then
4 . . . s = x+2y²/3x.
The following is the approximate expression for the relation between a change ∆s in the length of the half chain and the corresponding change ∆y in the dip:—
s+∆s = x+(2/3x) {y²+2yΔy+(∆y)²} = x+2y²/3x+4yΔy/3x+2∆y²/3x,
or, neglecting the last term,
5 . . . ∆s = 4y∆y/3x,
and
6 . . . ∆y = 3x∆s/4y.
From these equations the deflection produced by any given stress on the chains or by a change of temperature can be calculated.
36. Deflection of Girders.— Let fig. 71 represent a beam bent by external loads. Let the origin O be taken at the lowest point of the bent beam. Then the deviation y = DE of the neutral axis of the bent beam at any point D from the axis OX is given by the relation
| d²y dx² | = | M EI |
where M is the bending moment and I the amount of inertia of the beam at D, and E is the coefficient of elasticity. It is usually accurate enough in deflection calculations to take for I the moment of inertia at the centre of the beam and to consider it constant for the length of the beam. Then
| dy dx | = | 1 EI | ∫Mdx |
| y = | 1 EI | ∫∫Mdx². |
The integration can be performed when M is expressed in terms of x. Thus for a beam supported at the ends and loaded with w per inch length M = w(a²-x²), where a is the half span. Then the deflection at the centre is the value of y for x = a, and is
| δ = | 5 24 | wa4 EI | . |
The radius of curvature of the beam at D is given by the relation
R = EI/M.
37. Graphic Method of finding Deflection.—Divide the span L into any convenient number n of equal parts of length l, so that nl = L; compute the radii of curvature R1, R2, R3 for the several sections. Let measurements along the beam be represented according to any convenient scale, so that calling L1 and l1 the lengths to be drawn on paper, we have L = aL1; now let r1, r2, r3 be a series of radii such that r1 = R1/ab, r2 = R2/ab, &c., where b is any convenient constant chosen of such magnitude as will allow arcs with the radii, r1, r2, &c., to be drawn with the means at the draughtsman's disposal. Draw a curve
as shown in fig. 72 with arcs of the length l1, l2, l3, &c., and with the radii r1, r2, &c. (note, for a length ½l1 at each end the radius will be infinite, and the curve must end with a straight line tangent to the last arc), then let v be the measured deflection of this curve from the straight line, and V the actual deflection of the bridge; we have V = av/b, approximately. This method distorts the curve, so that vertical ordinates of the curve are drawn to a scale b times greater than that of the horizontal ordinates. Thus if the horizontal scale be one-tenth of an inch to the foot, a = 120, and a beam 100 ft. in length would be drawn equal to 10 in.; then if the true radius at the centre were 10,000 ft., this radius, if the curve were undistorted, would be on paper 1000 in., but making b = 50 we can draw the curve with a radius of 20 in. The vertical distortion of the curve must not be so great that there is a very sensible difference between the length of the arc and its chord. This can be regulated by altering the value of b. In fig. 72 distortion is carried too far; this figure is merely used as an illustration.
38. Camber.—In order that a girder may become straight under its working load it should be constructed with a camber or upward convexity equal to the calculated deflection. Owing to the yielding of joints when a beam is first loaded a smaller modulus of elasticity should be taken than for a solid bar. For riveted girders E is about 17,500,000 lb per sq. in. for first loading. W.J.M. Rankine gives the approximate rule
Working deflection = δ = l²/10,000h,
where l is the span and h the depth of the beam, the stresses being those usual in bridgework, due to the total dead and live load.
(W. C. U.)
[1] For the ancient bridges in Rome see further Rome: Archaeology, and such works as R. Lanciani, Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome (Eng. trans., 1897), pp. 16 foll.
BRIDGET, SAINT, more properly Brigid (c. 452-523), one of the patron saints of Ireland, was born at Faughart in county Louth, her father being a prince of Ulster. Refusing to marry, she chose a life of seclusion, making her cell, the first in Ireland, under a large oak tree, whence the place was called Kil-dara, "the church of the oak." The city of Kildare is supposed to derive its name from St Brigid's cell. The year of her death is generally placed in 523. She was buried at Kildare, but her remains were afterwards translated to Downpatrick, where they were laid beside the bodies of St Patrick and St Columba. Her feast is celebrated on the 1st of February. A large collection of miraculous stories clustered round her name, and her reputation was not confined to Ireland, for, under the name of St Bride, she became a favourite saint in England, and numerous churches were dedicated to her in Scotland.
See the five lives given in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum, Feb. 1, i. 99, 119, 950. Cf. Whitley-Stokes, Three Middle-Irish Homilies on the Lives of Saint Patrick, Brigit and Columba (Calcutta, 1874); Colgan, Acta SS. Hiberniae; D. O'Hanlon, Lives of Irish Saints, vol. ii.; Knowles, Life of St Brigid (1907); further bibliography in Ulysse Chevalier, Répertoire des sources hist. Bio.-Bibl. (2nd ed., Paris, 1905), s.v.
BRIDGET, Brigitta, Birgitta, OF SWEDEN, SAINT (c. 1302-1373), the most celebrated saint of the northern kingdoms, was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and lagman (provincial judge) of Uppland, and one of the richest landowners of the country. In 1316 she was married to Ulf Gudmarson, lord of Nericia, to whom she bore eight children, one of whom was afterwards honoured as St Catherine of Sweden. Bridget's saintly and charitable life soon made her known far and wide; she gained, too, great religious influence over her husband, with whom (1341-1343) she went on pilgrimage to St James of Compostella. In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died in the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra in East Gothland, and Bridget now devoted herself wholly to religion. As a child she had already believed herself to have visions; these now became more frequent, and her records of these "revelations," which were translated into Latin by Matthias, canon of Linköping, and by her confessor, Peter, prior of Alvastra, obtained a great vogue during the middle ages. It was about this time that she founded the order of St Saviour, or Bridgittines (q.v.), of which the principal house, at Vadstena, was richly endowed by King Magnus II. and his queen. About 1350 she went to Rome, partly to obtain from the pope the authorization of the new order, partly in pursuance of her self-imposed mission to elevate the moral tone of the age. It was not till 1370 that Pope Urban V. confirmed the rule of her order; but meanwhile Bridget had made herself universally beloved in Rome by her kindness and good works. Save for occasional pilgrimages, including one to Jerusalem in 1373, she remained in Rome till her death on the 23rd of July 1373. She was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX., and her feast is celebrated on the 9th of October.
Bibliography.—Cf. the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum, Oct. 8, iv. 368-560; the Vita Sanctae Brigittae, edited by C. Annerstedt in Scriptores rerum Suedicarum medii aevi, iii. 185-244 (Upsala, 1871). The best modern work on the subject is by the comtesse Catherine de Flavigny, entitled Sainte Brigitte de Suède, sa vie, ses révélations et son œuvre (Paris, 1892), which contains an exhaustive bibliography. The Revelations are contained in the critical edition of St Bridget's works published by the Swedish Historical Society and edited by G.E. Klemming (Stockholm, 1857-1884, II vols.). For full bibliography (to 1904) see Ulysse Chevalier, Répertoire des sources hist. Bio.-Bibl., s.v. "Brigitte."
BRIDGETON, a city, port of entry, and the county-seat of Cumberland county, New Jersey, U.S.A., in the south part of the state, on Cohansey creek, 38 m. S. of Philadelphia. Pop. (1890) 11,424; (1900) 13,913, of whom 653 were foreign-born and 701 were negroes; (1905) 13,624; (1910) 14,209. It is served by the West Jersey & Sea Shore and the Central of New Jersey railways, by electric railways connecting with adjacent towns, and by Delaware river steamboats on Cohansey creek, which is navigable to this point. It is an attractive residential city, has a park of 650 acres and a fine public library, and is the seat of West Jersey academy and of Ivy Hall, a school for girls. It is an important market town and distributing centre for a rich agricultural region; among its manufactures are glass (the product, chiefly glass bottles, being valued in 1905 at $1,252,795—42.3% of the value of all the city's factory products—and Bridgeton ranking eighth among the cities of the United States in this industry), machinery, clothing, and canned fruits and vegetables; it also has dyeing and finishing works. Though Bridgeton is a port of entry, its foreign commerce is relatively unimportant. The first settlement in what is now Bridgeton was made toward the close of the 18th century. A pioneer iron-works was established here in 1814. The city of Bridgeton, formed by the union of the township of Bridgeton and the township of Cohansey (incorporated in 1845 and 1848 respectively), was chartered in 1864.
BRIDGETT, THOMAS EDWARD (1829-1899), Roman Catholic priest and historical writer, was born at Derby on the 20th of January 1829. He was brought up a Baptist, but in his sixteenth year joined the Church of England. In 1847 he entered St John's College, Cambridge, with the intention of taking orders. Being unable to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles he could not take his degree, and in 1850 became a Roman Catholic, soon afterwards joining the Congregation of the Redemptorists. He went through his novitiate at St Trond in Belgium, and after a course of five years of theological study at Wittem, in Holland, was ordained priest. He returned to England in 1856, and for over forty years led an active life as a missioner in England and Ireland, preaching in over 80 missions and 140 retreats to the
clergy and to nuns. His stay in Limerick was particularly successful, and he founded a religious confraternity of laymen which numbered 5000 members. Despite his arduous life as a priest, Bridgett found time to produce literary works of value, chiefly dealing with the history of the Reformation in England; among these are The Life of Blessed John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1888); The Life and Writings of Sir Thomas More (1890); History of the Eucharist in Great Britain (2 vols., 1881); Our Lady's Dowry (1875, 3rd ed. 1890). He died at Clapham on the 17th of February 1899.
For a complete list of Bridgett's works see The Life of Father Bridgett, by C. Ryder (London, 1906).
BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS EGERTON, 3rd Duke of (1736-1803), the originator of British inland navigation, younger son of the 1st duke, was born on the 21st of May 1736. Scroop, 1st duke of Bridgewater (1681-1745), was the son of the 3rd earl of Bridgewater, and was created a duke in 1720; he was the great-grandson of John Egerton, 1st earl of Bridgewater (d. 1649; cr. 1617), whose name is associated with the production of Milton's Comus; and the latter was the son of Sir Thomas Egerton (1540-1617), Queen Elizabeth's lord keeper and James I.'s lord chancellor, who was created baron of Ellesmere in 1603, and in 1616 Viscount Brackley (q.v.).
Francis Egerton succeeded to the dukedom at the age of twelve on the death of his brother, the 2nd duke. As a child he was sickly and of such unpromising intellectual capacity that at one time the idea of cutting the entail was seriously entertained. Shortly after attaining his majority he became engaged to the beautiful duchess of Hamilton, but her refusal to give up the acquaintance of her sister, Lady Coventry, led to the breaking off of the match. Thereupon the duke broke up his London establishment, and retiring to his estate at Worsley, devoted himself to the making of canals. The navigable canal from Worsley to Manchester which he projected for the transport of the coal obtained on his estates was (with the exception of the Sankey canal) the first great undertaking of the kind executed in Great Britain in modern times. The construction of this remarkable work, with its famous aqueduct across the Irwell, was carried out by James Brindley, the celebrated engineer. The completion of this canal led the duke to undertake a still more ambitious work. In 1762 he obtained parliamentary powers to provide an improved waterway between Liverpool and Manchester by means of a canal. The difficulties encountered in the execution of the latter work were still more formidable than those of the Worsley canal, involving, as they did, the carrying of the canal over Sale Moor Moss. But the genius of Brindley, his engineer, proved superior to all obstacles, and though at one period of the undertaking the financial resources of the duke were almost exhausted, the work was carried to a triumphant conclusion. The untiring perseverance displayed by the duke in surmounting the various difficulties that retarded the accomplishment of his projects, together with the pecuniary restrictions he imposed on himself in order to supply the necessary capital (at one time he reduced his personal expenses to £400 a year), affords an instructive example of that energy and self-denial on which the success of great undertakings so much depends. Both these canals were completed when the duke was only thirty-six years of age, and the remainder of his life was spent in extending them and in improving his estates; and during the latter years of his life he derived a princely income from the success of his enterprise. Though a steady supporter of Pitt's administration, he never took any prominent part in politics.
He died unmarried on the 8th of March 1803, when the ducal title became extinct, but the earldom of Bridgewater passed to a cousin, John William Egerton, who became 7th earl. By his will he devised his canals and estates on trust, under which his nephew, the marquess of Stafford (afterwards first duke of Sutherland), became the first beneficiary, and next his son Francis Leveson Gower (afterwards first earl of Ellesmere) and his issue. In order that the trust should last as long as possible, an extraordinary use was made of the legal rule that property may be settled for the duration of lives in being and twenty-one years after, by choosing a great number of persons connected with the duke and their living issue and adding to them the peers who had taken their seats in the House of Lords on or before the duke's decease. Though the last of the peers died in 1857, one of the commoners survived till the 19th of October 1883, and consequently the trust did not expire till the 19th of October 1903, when the whole property passed under the undivided control of the earl of Ellesmere. The canals, however, had in 1872 been transferred to the Bridgewater Navigation Company, by whom they were sold in 1887 to the Manchester Ship Canal Company.
BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS HENRY EGERTON, 8th Earl of (1756-1829), was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and became fellow of All Souls in 1780, and F.R.S. in 1781. He held the rectories of Middle and Whitchurch in Shropshire, but the duties were performed by a proxy. He succeeded his brother (see above) in the earldom in 1823, and spent the latter part of his life in Paris. He was a fair scholar, and a zealous naturalist and antiquarian. When he died in February 1829 the earldom became extinct. He bequeathed to the British Museum the valuable Egerton MSS. dealing with the literature of France and Italy, and also £12,000. He also left £8000 at the disposal of the president of the Royal Society, to be paid to the author or authors who might be selected to write and publish 1000 copies of a treatise "On the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation." Mr Davies Gilbert, who then filled the office, selected eight persons, each to undertake a branch of this subject, and each to receive £1000 as his reward, together with any benefit that might accrue from the sale of his work, according to the will of the testator.
The Bridgewater treatises were published as follows:—1. The Adaptation of External Nature to the Moral and Intellectual Condition of Man, by Thomas Chalmers, D.D. 2. The Adaptation of External Nature to the Physical Condition of Man, by John Kidd, M.D. 3. Astronomy and General Physics considered with reference to Natural Theology, by William Whewell, D.D. 4. The Hand, its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as evincing Design, by Sir Charles Bell. 5. Animal and Vegetable Physiology considered with reference to Natural Theology, by Peter Mark Roget. 6. Geology and Mineralogy considered with reference to Natural Theology, by William Buckland, D.D. 7. The Habits and Instincts of Animals with reference to Natural Theology, by William Kirby. 8. Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of Digestion, considered with reference to Natural Theology, by William Prout, M.D. The works are of unequal merit; several of them took a high rank in apologetic literature. They first appeared during the years 1833 to 1840, and afterwards in Bohn's Scientific Library.
BRIDGITTINES, an order of Augustinian canonesses founded by St Bridget of Sweden (q.v.) c. 1350, and approved by Urban V. in 1370. It was a "double order," each convent having attached to it a small community of canons to act as chaplains, but under the government of the abbess. The order spread widely in Sweden and Norway, and played a remarkable part in promoting culture and literature in Scandinavia; to this is to be attributed the fact that the head house at Vastein, by Lake Vetter, was not suppressed till 1595. There were houses also in other lands, so that the total number amounted to 80. In England, the famous Bridgittine convent of Syon at Isleworth, Middlesex, was founded and royally endowed by Henry V. in 1415, and became one of the richest and most fashionable and influential nunneries in the country. It was among the few religious houses restored in Mary's reign, when nearly twenty of the old community were re-established at Syon. On Elizabeth's accession they migrated to the Low Countries, and thence, after many vicissitudes, to Rouen, and finally in 1594 to Lisbon. Here they remained, always recruiting their numbers from England, till 1861, when they returned to England. Syon House is now established at Chudleigh in Devon, the only English community that can boast an unbroken conventual existence since pre-Reformation times. Some six other Bridgittine convents exist on the Continent, but the order is now composed only of women.
See Helyot, Histoire des ordres religieux (1715), iv. c. 4; Max Heimbucher, Orden u. Kongregationen (1907), ii. § 83; Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (ed. 3), art. "Birgitta"; A. Hamilton in Dublin Review, 1888, "The Nuns of Syon."
(E. C. B.)
BRIDGMAN, FREDERICK ARTHUR (1847- ), American artist, was born at Tuskegee, Alabama, on the 10th of November 1847. He began as a draughtsman in New York for the American Bank Note Company in 1864-1865, and studied art in the same years at the Brooklyn Art School and at the National Academy of Design; but he went to Paris in 1866 and became a pupil of J.L. Gérôme. Paris then became his headquarters. A trip to Egypt in 1873-1874 resulted in pictures of the East that attracted immediate attention, and his large and important composition, "The Funeral Procession of a Mummy on the Nile," in the Paris Salon (1877), bought by James Gordon Bennett, brought him the cross of the Legion of Honour. Other paintings by him were "An American Circus in Normandy," "Procession of the Bull Apis" (now in the Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington), and a "Rumanian Lady" (in the Temple collection, Philadelphia).
BRIDGMAN, LAURA DEWEY (1829-1889), American blind deaf-mute, was born on the 21st of December 1829 at Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.A., being the third daughter of Daniel Bridgman (d. 1868), a substantial Baptist farmer, and his wife Harmony, daughter of Cushman Downer, and grand-daughter of Joseph Downer, one of the five first settlers (1761) of Thetford, Vermont. Laura was a delicate infant, puny and rickety, and was subject to fits up to twenty months old, but otherwise seemed to have normal senses; at two years, however, she had a very bad attack of scarlet fever, which destroyed sight and hearing, blunted the sense of smell, and left her system a wreck. Though she gradually recovered health she remained a blind deaf-mute, but was kindly treated and was in particular made a sort of playmate by an eccentric bachelor friend of the Bridgmans, Mr Asa Tenney, who as soon as she could walk used to take her for rambles a-field. In 1837 Mr James Barrett, of Dartmouth College, saw her and mentioned her case to Dr Mussey, the head of the medical department, who wrote an account which attracted the attention of Dr S.G. Howe (q.v.), the head of the Perkins Institution for the Blind at Boston. He determined to try to get the child into the Institution and to attempt to educate her; her parents assented, and in October 1837 Laura entered the school. Though the loss of her eye-balls occasioned some deformity, she was otherwise a comely child and of a sensitive and affectionate nature; she had become familiar with the world about her, and was imitative in so far as she could follow the actions of others; but she was limited in her communication with others to the narrower uses of touch—patting her head meant approval, rubbing her hand disapproval, pushing one way meant to go, drawing another to come. Her mother, preoccupied with house-work, had already ceased to be able to control her, and her father's authority was due to fear of superior force, not to reason. Dr Howe at once set himself to teach her the alphabet by touch. It is impossible, for reasons of space, to describe his efforts in detail. He taught words before the individual letters, and his first experiment consisting in pasting upon several common articles such as keys, spoons, knives, &c., little paper labels with the names of the articles printed in raised letters, which he got her to feel and differentiate; then he gave her the same labels by themselves, which she learnt to associate with the articles they referred to, until, with the spoon or knife alone before her she could find the right label for each from a mixed heap. The next stage was to give her the component letters and teach her to combine them in the words she knew, and gradually in this way she learnt all the alphabet and the ten digits, &c. The whole process depended, of course, on her having a human intelligence, which only required stimulation, and her own interest in learning became keener as she progressed. On the 24th of July 1839 she first wrote her own name legibly. Dr Howe devoted himself with the utmost patience and assiduity to her education and was rewarded by increasing success. On the 20th of June 1840 she had her first arithmetic lesson, by the aid of a metallic case perforated with square holes, square types being used; and in nineteen days she could add a column of figures amounting to thirty. She was in good health and happy, and was treated by Dr Howe as his daughter. Her case already began to interest the public, and others were brought to Dr Howe for treatment. In 1841 Laura began to keep a journal, in which she recorded her own day's work and thoughts. In January 1842 Charles Dickens visited the Institution, and afterwards wrote enthusiastically in American Notes of Dr Howe's success with Laura. In 1843 funds were obtained for devoting a special teacher to her, and first Miss Swift, then Miss Wight, and then Miss Paddock, were appointed; Laura by this time was learning geography and elementary astronomy. By degrees she was given religious instruction, but Dr Howe was intent upon not inculcating dogma before she had grasped the essential moral truths of Christianity and the story of the Bible. She grew up a gay, cheerful girl, loving, optimistic, but with a nervous system inclining to irritability, and requiring careful education in self-control. In 1860 her eldest sister Mary's death helped to bring on a religious crisis, and through the influence of some of her family she was received into the Baptist church; she became for some years after this more self-conscious and rather pietistic. In 1867 she began writing compositions which she called poems; the best-known is called "Holy Home." In 1872, Dr Howe having been enabled to build some separate cottages (each under a matron) for the blind girls, Laura was moved from the larger house of the Institution into one of them, and there she continued her quiet life. The death of Dr Howe in 1876 was a great grief to her; but before he died he had made arrangements by which she would be financially provided for in her home at the Institution for the rest of her life. In 1887 her jubilee was celebrated there, but in 1889 she was taken ill, and she died on the 24th of May. She was buried at Hanover. Her name has become familiar everywhere as an example of the education of a blind deaf-mute, leading to even greater results in Helen Keller.
See Laura Bridgman, by Maud Howe and Florence Howe Hall (1903), which contains a bibliography; and Life and Education of Laura Dewey Bridgman (1878), by Mary S. Lamson.
(H. Ch.)
BRIDGNORTH, a market town and municipal borough in the Ludlow parliamentary division of Shropshire, England, 150 m. N.W. by W. from London by the Great Western railway, on the Worcester-Shrewsbury line. Pop. (1901) 6052. The river Severn separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left. A steep line of rail connects them. The upper town is built on the acclivities and summit of a rock which rises abruptly from the river to the height of 180 ft., and gives the town a very picturesque appearance. The railway passes under by a long tunnel. On the summit is the tower of the old castle, leaning about 17° from the perpendicular. There are also two parish churches. That of St Leonard, formerly collegiate, was practically rebuilt in 1862. This parish was held by Richard Baxter, the famous divine, in 1640. St Mary's church is in classic style of the late 18th century. The picturesque half-timbered style of domestic building is frequently seen in the streets. In this style are the town hall (1652), and a house dated 1580, in which was born in 1729 Thomas Percy, bishop of Dromore, the editor of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. The grammar school, founded in 1503, occupies an Elizabethan building; there are also a college of divinity, a blue-coat school, and a literary institute with library and school of art. There are large charities. Near the town is a curious ancient hermitage cave, in the sandstone. At Quatford, 1 m. south-east, the site of a castle dating from 1085 may be traced. This dominated the ancient Forest of Morf. Here Robert de Belesme originally founded the college which was afterwards moved to Bridgnorth. Bridgnorth manufactures carpets; brewing is carried on, and there is trade in agricultural produce. The town is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 3018 acres.
The early history of Bridgnorth is connected with Æthelfleda, lady of the Mercians, who raised a mound there in 912 as part of her offensive policy against the Danes of the five boroughs. After the Conquest William I. granted the manor of Bridgnorth to Earl Roger of Shrewsbury, whose son Robert de Belesme transferred his castle and borough from Quatford to Bridgnorth, but on Robert's attainder in 1102 the town became a royal borough. It is probable that Henry I. granted the burgesses certain privileges, for Henry II. confirmed to them all the franchises and customs which they had in the time of Henry I. King John in 1215 granted them freedom from toll throughout England except the city of London, and in
1227 Henry III. conferred several new rights and liberties, among which were a gild merchant with a hanse. These early charters were confirmed by several succeeding kings, Henry VI. granting in addition assize of bread and ale and other privileges. Bridgnorth was incorporated by James I. in 1546. The burgesses returned two members to parliament in 1295, and continued to do so until 1867, when they were assigned only one member. The town was disfranchised in 1885. A yearly fair on the feast of the Translation of St Leonard and three following days was granted to the burgesses in 1359, and in 1630 Charles I. granted them licence to hold another fair on the Thursday before the first week in Lent and two following days.
BRIDGWATER, a market town, port and municipal borough in the Bridgwater parliamentary division of Somerset, England, on the river Parret, 10 m. from its mouth, and 151¾ m. by the Great Western railway W. by S. of London. Pop. (1901) 15,209. It is pleasantly situated in a level and well-wooded country, having on the east the Mendip range and on the west the Quantock hills. The town lies along both sides of the river, here crossed by a handsome iron bridge. Among several places of worship the chief is St Mary Magdalene's church; this has a north porch and windows dating from the 14th century, besides a lofty and slender spire; but it has been much altered by restoration. It possesses a fine painted reredos. A house in Blake Street, largely restored, was the birthplace of Admiral Blake in 1598. Near the town are the three fine old churches of Weston Zoyland, Chedzoy and Middlezoy, containing some good brasses and carved woodwork. The battlefield of Sedgemoor, where the Monmouth rebellion was finally crushed in 1685, is within 3 m.; while not far off is Charlinch, the home of the Agapemonites (q.v.). Bridgwater has a considerable coasting trade, importing grain, coal, wine, hemp, tallow and timber, and exporting Bath brick, farm produce, earthenware, cement and plaster of Paris. The river is navigable by vessels of 700 tons, though liable, when spring-tides are flowing, to a bore which rises, in rough weather, to a height of 9 ft. Bath brick, manufactured only here, and made of the mingled sand and clay deposited by every tide, is the staple article of commerce; iron-founding is also carried on. The town is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 926 acres.
A settlement probably grew up in Saxon times at Bridgwater (Briges, Briggewalteri, Brigewauter), owing its origin as a trade centre to its position at the mouth of the chief river in Somerset. It became a mesne borough by the charter granted by John in 1201, which provided that the town should be a free borough, the burgesses to be free and quit of all tolls, and made William de Briwere overlord. Other charters were granted by Henry III. in 1227 (confirmed in 1318, 1370, 1380), which gave Bridgwater a gild merchant. It was incorporated by charter of Edward IV. (1468), confirmed in 1554, 1586, 1629 and 1684. Parliamentary representation began in 1295 and continued until the Reform Act of 1870. A Saturday market and a fair on the 24th of June were granted by the charter of 1201. Another fair at the beginning of Lent was added in 1468, and a second market on Thursday, and fairs at Midsummer and on the 21st of September were added in 1554. Charles II. granted another fair on the 29th of December. The medieval importance of these markets and fairs for the sale of wool and wine and later of cloth has gone. The shipping trade of the port revived after the construction of the new dock in 1841, and corn and timber have been imported for centuries.
See S. G. Jarman, "History of Bridgwater," Historical MSS. Commission, Report 9, Appendix; Victoria County History: Somerset, vol. ii.
BRIDLINGTON, a market town, municipal borough and seaside resort in the Buckrose parliamentary division of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, 31 m. N.N.E. from Hull by a branch of the North Eastern railway. Pop. (1891) 8919; (1901) 12,482. It is divided into two parts, the ancient market town lying about 1 m. from the coast, while the modern houses of Bridlington Quay, the watering-place, fringe the shore of Bridlington Bay. Southward the coast becomes low, but northward it is steep and very fine, where the great spur of Flamborough Head (q.v.) projects eastward. In the old town of Bridlington the church of St Mary and St Nicholas consists of the fine Decorated and Perpendicular nave, with Early English portions, of the priory church of an Augustinian foundation of the time of Henry I. There remains also the Perpendicular gateway, serving as the town-hall. The founder of the priory was Walter de Gaunt, about 1114, and the institution flourished until 1537, when the last prior was executed for taking part in the Pilgrimage of Grace. A Congregational society was founded in 1662, and its old church, dating from 1702, stood until 1906. At Bridlington Quay there is excellent sea-bathing, and the parade and ornamental gardens provide pleasant promenades. Extensive works have been carried out along the sea front. There is a chalybeate spring. The harbour is enclosed by two stone piers, and there is good anchorage in the bay. The municipal borough is under a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, and has an area of 2751 acres.
The mention of four burgesses at Bridlington (Brellington, Burlington) in the Domesday survey shows it to have been a borough before the Conquest. With the rest of the north of England, Bridlington suffered from the ravages of the Normans, and decreased in value from £32 in the reign of Edward the Confessor, when it formed part of the possessions of Earl Morcar, to 8s. at the time of the Domesday survey. By that time it was in the hands of the king by the forfeiture of Earl Morcar. It was granted by William II. to Gilbert de Gaunt, whose son and heir Walter founded the priory and endowed it with the manor of Bridlington and other lands. From this date the importance of the town steadily increased. Henry I. and several succeeding kings confirmed Walter de Gaunt's gift, Stephen granting in addition the right to have a port. In 1546 Henry IV. granted the prior and convent exemption from fifteenths, tenths and subsidies, in return for prayer for himself and his queen in every mass sung at the high altar. After the Dissolution the manor remained with the crown until 1624, when Charles I. granted it to Sir John Ramsey, whose brother and heir, Sir George Ramsey, sold it in 1633 to thirteen inhabitants of the town on behalf of all the tenants of the manor. The thirteen lords were assisted by twelve other inhabitants chosen by the freeholders, and when the number of lords was reduced to six, seven others were chosen from the assistants. A chief lord was chosen every year. This system still holds good. It is evident from the fact of thirteen inhabitants being allowed to hold the manor that the town had some kind of incorporation in the 17th century, although its incorporation charter was not granted until 1899, when it was created a municipal borough. In 1200 King John granted the prior of Bridlington a weekly market on Saturday and an annual fair on the vigil, feast and morrow of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Henry VI. in 1446 granted the prior three new fairs yearly on the vigil, day and morrow of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the Deposition of St John, late prior of Bridlington, and the Translation of the same St John. All fairs and markets were sold with the manor to the inhabitants of the town.
See J. Thompson, Historical Sketches of Bridlington (1821); Victoria County History: Yorkshire.
BRIDPORT, ALEXANDER HOOD, Viscount (1727-1814), British admiral, was the younger brother of Samuel, Lord Hood, and cousin of Sir Samuel and Captain Alexander Hood. Entering the navy in January 1741, he was appointed lieutenant of the "Bridgewater" six years later, and in that rank served for ten years in various ships. He was then posted to the "Prince," the flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Saunders (under whom Hood had served as a lieutenant) and in this command served in the Mediterranean for some time. Returning home, he was appointed to the "Minerva" frigate, in which he was present at Hawke's great victory in Quiberon Bay (20th November 1759). In 1761 the "Minerva" recaptured, after a long struggle, the "Warwick" of equal force, and later in the same year Captain Alexander Hood went in the "Africa" to the Mediterranean, where he served until the conclusion of peace. From this time forward he was in continuous employment afloat and ashore, and in the "Robust" was present at the battle of Ushant in 1778. Hood was involved in the court-martial on Admiral (afterwards Viscount) Keppel which followed this action, and although adverse popular feeling was aroused by the course which he took in Keppel's defence, his conduct does not seem to have injured his professional career. Two years later he was made rear-admiral of the white, and succeeded Kempenfeldt as one of Howe's flag-officers, and in the "Queen" (90) he was present at the relief of Gibraltar in 1782. For a time he sat in the House of Commons. Promoted vice-admiral in 1787, he became K.B. in the following year, and on the occasion of the Spanish armament in 1790 flew his flag again for a short time. On the outbreak of the war with France in 1793 Sir Alexander Hood once more went to sea, this time as Howe's second in command, and he had his share in the operations which culminated in the "Glorius First of June," and for his services was made Baron Bridport of Cricket St Thomas in Somerset
in the Irish peerage. Henceforth Bridport was practically in independent command. In 1795 he fought the much-criticized partial action of the 23rd of June off Belle-Ile, which, however unfavourably it was regarded in some quarters, was counted as a great victory by the public. Bridport's peerage was made English, and he became vice-admiral of England. In 1796-1797 he practically directed the war from London, rarely hoisting his flag afloat save at such critical times as that of the Irish expedition in 1797. In the following year he was about to put to sea when the Spithead fleet mutinied. He succeeded at first in pacifying the crew of his flag-ship, who had no personal grudge against their admiral, but a few days later the mutiny broke out afresh, and this time was uncontrollable. For a whole week the mutineers were supreme, and it was only by the greatest exertions of the old Lord Howe that order was then restored and the men returned to duty. After the mutiny had been suppressed, Bridport took the fleet to sea as commander-in-chief in name as well as in fact, and from 1798 to 1800 personally directed the blockade of Brest, which grew stricter and stricter as time went on. In 1800 he was relieved by St Vincent, and retired from active duty after fifty-nine years' service. In reward for his fine record his peerage was made a viscounty. He spent the remaining years of his life in retirement. He died on the 2nd of May 1814. The viscounty in the English peerage died with him; the Irish barony passed to the younger branch of his brother's family, for whom the viscounty was recreated in 1868.
See Charnock, Biographia Navalis, vi. 153; Naval Chronicle, i. 265; Ralfe, Nav. Biog. i. 202.
BRIDPORT, a market town and municipal borough in the Western parliamentary division of Dorsetshire, England, 18 m. N.W. of Dorchester, on a branch of the Great Western railway. Pop. (1901) 5710. It is pleasantly situated in a hilly district on the river Brit, from which it takes its name. The main part of the town is about a mile from the sea, with which it is connected by a winding street, ending at a quay surrounded by the fishing village of West Bay, where the railway terminates. The church of St Mary is a handsome cruciform Perpendicular building. The harbour is accessible only to small vessels. There is some import trade in flax, timber and coal. The principal articles of manufacture have long been sailcloth, cordage, linen and fishing-nets. The municipal borough is under a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 593 acres.
Bridport was evidently of some importance before the Conquest, when it consisted of 120 houses rated for all the king's services and paying geld for five hides. By 1086 the number of houses had decreased to 100, and of these 20 were in such a wretched condition that they could not pay geld. The town is first mentioned as a borough in the Pipe Roll of 1189, which states that William de Bendenges owed £9: 10s. for the ancient farm of Bridport, and that the men of the town owed tallage to the amount of 53s. 10d. Henry III. granted the first charter in 1252-1253, making the town a free borough and granting the burgesses the right to hold it at the ancient fee farm with an increase of 40s., and to choose two bailiffs to answer at the exchequer for the farm. A deed of 1381 shows that Henry III. also granted the burgesses freedom from toll. Bridport was incorporated by James I. in 1619, but Charles II. granted a new charter in 1667, and by this the town was governed until 1835. The first existing grant of a market and fairs to Bridport is dated 1593, but it appears from the Quo Warranto Rolls that Edward I. possessed a market there. The town was noted for the manufacture of ropes and cables as early as 1213, and an act of parliament (21 Henry VIII.) shows that the inhabitants had "from time out of mind" made the cables, ropes and hawsers for the royal navy and for most of the other ships. Bridport was represented in parliament by two members from 1395 to 1867. In the latter year the number was reduced to one, and in 1885 the town was disfranchised.
BRIE (Briegus saltus, from Celtic briek, clay), an agricultural district of northern France, to the E. of Paris, bounded W. and S. by the Seine, N. by the Marne. It has an area of 2400 sq. m., comprising the greater part of the department of Seine-et-Marne, together with portions of the departments of Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Aisne, Marne and Aube. The western portion was known as the Brie française, the eastern portion as the Brie champenoise. The Brie forms a plateau with few eminences, varying in altitude between 300 and 500 ft. in the west, and between 500 and 650 ft. in the east. Its scenery is varied by forests of some size—the chief being the Forêt de Senart, the Forêt de Crécy and the Forêt d'Armainvilliers. The surface soil is clay in which are embedded fragments of siliceous sandstone, used for millstones and constructional purposes; the subsoil is limestone. The Yères, a tributary of the Seine, and the Grand Morin and Petit Morin, tributaries of the Marne, are the chief rivers, but the region is not abundantly watered and the rainfall is only between 20 and 24 in. The Brie is famous for its grain and its dairy products, especially cheeses.
BRIEF (Lat. brevis, short), in English legal practice, the written statement given to a barrister to form the basis of his case. It was probably so called from its at first being only a copy of the original writ. Upon a barrister devolves the duty of taking charge of a case when it comes into court, but all the preliminary work, such as the drawing up of the case, serving papers, marshalling evidence, &c., is performed by a solicitor, so that a brief contains a concise summary for the information of counsel of the case which he has to plead, with all material facts in chronological order, and frequently such observations thereon as the solicitor may think fit to make, the names of witnesses, with the "proofs," that is, the nature of the evidence which each witness is ready to give, if called upon. The brief may also contain suggestions for the use of counsel when cross-examining witnesses called by the other side. Accompanying the brief may be copies of the pleadings (see Pleading), and of all documents material to the case. The brief is always endorsed with the title of the court in which the action is to be tried, with the title of the action, and the names of the counsel and of the solicitor who delivers the brief. Counsel's fee is also marked. The delivery of a brief to counsel gives him authority to act for his client in all matters which the litigation involves. The result of the action is noted on the brief by counsel, or if the action is compromised, the terms of the compromise are endorsed on each brief and signed by the leading counsel on the opposite side. In Scotland a brief is called a memorial.
In the United States the word has, to a certain extent, a different meaning, a brief in its English sense not being required, for the American attorney exercises all the functions distributed in England between barristers and solicitors. A lawyer sometimes prepares for his own use what is called a "trial brief" for use at the trial. This corresponds in all essential particulars with the "brief" prepared by the solicitor in England for the use of counsel. But the more distinctive use of the term in America is in the case of the brief "in error or appeal," before an appellate court. This is a written or printed document, varying according to circumstances, but embodying the argument on the question affected. Most of the appellate courts require the filing of printed briefs for the use of the court and opposing counsel at a time designated for each side before hearing. In the rules of the United States Supreme Court and circuit courts of appeals the brief is required to contain a concise statement of the case, a specification of errors relied on, including the substance of evidence, the admission or rejection of which is to be reviewed, or any extract from a charge excepted to, and an argument exhibiting clearly the points of law or fact to be discussed. This form of brief, it may be added, is also adopted for use at the trial in certain states of the Union which require printed briefs to be delivered to the court.
In English ecclesiastical law a brief meant letters patent issued out of chancery to churchwardens or other officers for the collection of money for church purposes. Such briefs were regulated by a statute of 1704, but are now obsolete, though they are still to be found named in one of the rubrics in the Communion service of the Book of Common Prayer.
The brief-bag, in which counsel's papers are carried to and from court, now forms an integral part of a barrister's outfit, but in the early part of the 19th century the possession of a brief-bag was strictly confined to those who had received one from a king's counsel. King's counsel were then few in number, were considered officers of the court, and had a salary of £40 a year, with a supply of paper, pens and purple bags. These bags they distributed among rising juniors of their acquaintance,
whose bundles of briefs were getting inconveniently large to be carried in their hands. These perquisites were abolished in 1830. English brief-bags are now either blue or red. Blue bags are those with which barristers provide themselves when first called, and it is a breach of etiquette to let this bag be visible in court. The only brief-bag allowed to be placed on the desks is the red bag, which by English legal etiquette is given by a leading counsel to a junior who has been useful to him in some important case.
BRIEG, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Silesia, on the left bank of the Oder, and on the Breslau and Beuthen railway, 27 m. S.E. of the former city. Pop. (1900) 24,090. It has a castle (the residence of the old counts of Brieg), a lunatic asylum, a gymnasium with a good library, several churches and hospitals, and a theatre. Its fortifications were destroyed by the French in 1807, and are now replaced by beautiful promenades. Brieg carries on a considerable trade, its chief manufactures being linen, embroideries, cotton and woollen goods, ribbons, leather, machinery, hats, pasteboard and cigars. Important cattle-markets are held here. Brieg, or, as it is called in early documents, Civitas Altae Ripae, obtained municipal rights in 1250 from Duke Henry III. of Breslau, and was fortified in 1297; its name is derived from the Polish Brzeg (shore). Burned by the Hussites in 1428, the town was soon afterwards rebuilt, and in 1595 it was again fortified by Joachim Frederick, duke of Brieg. In the Thirty Years' War it suffered greatly; in that of the Austrian succession it was heavily bombarded by the Prussian forces; and in 1807 it was captured by the French and Bavarians. From 1311 to 1675 Brieg was the capital of an independent line of dukes, a cadet branch of the Polish dukes of Lower Silesia, by one of whom the castle was built in 1341. In 1537 Frederick II., duke of Liegnitz, Brieg and Wohlau, concluded with Joachim II., elector of Brandenburg, a treaty according to which his duchy was to pass to the house of Brandenburg in the event of the extinction of his line. On the death of George William the last duke in 1675, however, Austria refused to acknowledge the validity of the treaty and annexed the duchies. It was the determination of Frederick II. of Prussia to assert his claim that led in 1740 to the war that ended two years later in the cession of Silesia to Prussia.
See Stokvis, Manuel d'histoire, iii. pp. 54, 64.
BRIEG, often now spelt Brig (Fr. Brigue, Ital. Briga), a picturesque small town in the Swiss canton of the Valais, situated at the foot of the northern slope of the Simplon Pass, on the right bank of the Saltine stream, and a little above its junction with the Rhone. Its older houses are very Italian in appearance, while its most prominent buildings (castle, former Jesuits' college and Ursuline convent) all date from the 17th century, and are due to the generosity of a single member of the local Stockalper family. The prosperity of Brieg is bound up with the Simplon Pass (q.v.), so that it gradually supplanted the more ancient village of Naters opposite, becoming a separate parish (the church is at Glis, a few minutes from the town) in 1517. Its medieval name was Briga dives. The opening of the carriage road across the Simplon (1807) and of the tunnel beneath the pass (1906), as well as the fact that above Brieg is the steeper and less fertile portion of the Upper Valais (now much frequented by tourists), have greatly increased the importance and size of the town. The opening of the railway tunnel beneath the Lötschen Pass, affording direct communication with Bern and the Bernese Oberland, is calculated still further to contribute to its prosperity. The new town extends below the old one and is closer to the right bank of the Rhone. In 1900 the population was 2182, almost all Romanists, while 1316 were German-speaking, 719 Italian-speaking (the Simplon tunnel workmen), and 142 French-speaking, one person only speaking Romonsch.
(W. A. B. C.)
BRIELLE (Briel or Bril), a seaport in the province of South Holland, Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne, at the mouth of the New Maas, 5½ m. N. of Hellevoetsluis. Pop. (1900) 4107. It is a fortified place and has a good harbour, arsenal, magazine and barracks. It also possesses a quaint town hall, and an orphanage dating from 1533. The tower of the Groote Kerk of St Catherine serves as a lighthouse. Most of the trade of Brielle was diverted to Hellevoetsluis by the cutting of the Voornsche Canal in 1829, but it still has some business in corn and fodder, as well as a few factories. A large number of the inhabitants are also engaged in the fisheries and as pilots.
The chief event in the history of Brielle is its capture by the Gueux sur Mer, a squadron of privateers which raided the Dutch coast under commission of the prince of Orange. This event, which took place on the 1st of April 1572, was the first blow in the long war of Dutch independence, and was followed by a general outbreak of the patriotic party (Motley, Rise of the Dutch Republic, part iii. chapter vi.). "The Brill" was one of the four Dutch towns handed over to Queen Elizabeth in 1584 as security for English expenses incurred in aiding the Dutch. Brielle is the birthplace of the famous admiral Martin van Tromp, and also of Admiral van Almonde, a distinguished commander of the early 18th century.
BRIENNE-LE-CHÂTEAU, a town of north-eastern France, in the department of Aube, 1 m. from the right bank of the Aube and 26 m. N.E. of Troyes on the Eastern railway. Pop. (1906) 1761. The château, which overlooks the town, is an imposing building of the latter half of the 18th century, built by the cardinal de Brienne (see below). It possesses an important collection of pictures, many of them historical portraits of the 17th and 18th centuries. The church dates from the 16th century and contains good stained glass. A statue of Napoleon commemorates his sojourn at Brienne from 1779 to 1784, when he was studying at the military school suppressed in 1790. In 1814 Brienne was the scene of fighting between Napoleon and the Allies (see Napoleonic Campaigns). Brewing is carried on in the town. Brienne-la-Vieille, a village 1½ m. south of Brienne-le-Château, has a church of the 12th and 16th centuries with fine stained windows. The portal once belonged to the ancient abbey of Bassefontaine, the ruins of which are situated near the village.
Counts of Brienne.—Under the Carolingian dynasty Brienne-le-Château was the capital town of a French countship. In the 10th century it was captured by two adventurers named Engelbert and Gobert, and from the first of these sprang the noble house of Brienne. In 1210 John of Brienne (1148-1237) became king of Jerusalem, through his marriage with Mary of Montsserrat, heiress of the kingdom of Jerusalem. He led a crusade in Egypt which had no lasting success; and when in 1229 he was elected emperor of the East, for the period of Baldwin II.'s minority, he fought and conquered the Greek emperor John III. (Batatzes or Vatatzes). Walter V., count of Brienne and of Lecce (Apulia) and duke of Athens, fought against the Greeks and at first drove them from Thessaly, but was eventually defeated and killed near Lake Copais in 1311. His son, Walter VI., after having vainly attempted to reconquer Athens in 1331, served under Philip of Valois against the English. Having defended Florence against the Pisans he succeeded in obtaining dictatorial powers for himself in the republic; but his tyrannical conduct brought about his expulsion. He was appointed constable of France by John the Good, and was killed at the battle of Poitiers in 1356. His sister and heiress Isabelle married Walter of Enghien, and so brought Brienne to the house of Enghien, and, by his marriage with Margaret of Enghien, John of Luxemburg-St Pol (d. about 1397) became count of Brienne. The house of Luxemburg retained the countship until Margaret Charlotte of Luxemburg sold it to a certain Marpon, who ceded it to Henri Auguste de Loménie (whose wife, Louise de Béon, descended from the house of Luxemburg-Brienne) in 1640. The Limousin house of Loménie (the genealogies which trace this family to the 15th century are untrustworthy) produced many well-known statesmen, among others the celebrated cardinal Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne (1727-1794), minister of Louis XV.; and the last lords of Brienne were members of this family.
(M. P.*)
BRIENZ, LAKE OF, in the Swiss canton of Bern, the first lake into which the river Aar expands. It lies in a deep hollow between the village of Brienz on the east (2580 inhabitants, the
chief centre of the Swiss wood-carving industry) and, on the west, Bönigen (1515 inhabitants), close to Interlaken. Its length is about 9 m., its width 1½ m., and its maximum depth 856 ft., while its area is 11½ sq. m., and the surface is 1857 ft. above the sea-level. On the south shore are the Giessbach Falls and the hamlet of Iseltwald. On the north shore are a few small villages. The character of the lake is gloomy and sad as compared with its neighbour, that of Thun. Its chief affluent is the Lütschine (flowing from the valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen). The first steamer was placed on the lake in 1839.
(W. A. B. C.)
BRIERLEY, BENJAMIN (1825-1896), English weaver and writer in Lancashire dialect, was born near Manchester, the son of humble parents, and started life in a textile factory, educating himself in his spare time. At about the age of thirty he began to contribute articles to local papers, and the republication of some of his sketches of Lancashire character in A Summer Day in Daisy Nook (1859) attracted attention. In 1863 he definitely took to journalism and literature as his work, publishing in 1863 his Chronicles of Waverlow, and in 1864 a long story called The Layrock of Langley Side (afterwards dramatized), followed by others. He started in 1869 Ben Brierley's Journal, a weekly, which continued till 1891, and he gave public readings from his own writings, visiting America in 1880 and 1884. His various Ab-o'-th'-Yate sketches (about America, London, &c.), and his pictures of Lancashire common life were very popular, and were collected after his death. In 1884 he lost his savings by the failure of a building society, and a fund was raised for his support. He died on the 18th of January 1896, and two years later a statue was erected to him in Queen's Park, Manchester.
BRIERLY, SIR OSWALD WALTERS (1817-1894), English marine painter, who came of an old Cheshire family, was born at Chester. He entered Sass's art-school in London, and after studying naval architecture at Plymouth he exhibited some drawings of ships at the Royal Academy in 1839. He had a passion for the sea, and in 1841 started round the world with Benjamin Boyd (1796-1851), afterwards well known as a great Australian squatter, in the latter's ship "Wanderer," and having got to New South Wales, made his home at Auckland for ten years. Brierly Point is called after him. He added to his sea experiences by voyages on H.M.S. "Rattlesnake" in 1848, and with Sir Henry Keppel on the "Meander" in 1850; he returned to England in 1851 on this ship, and illustrated Keppel's book about his cruise (1853). He was again with Keppel during the Crimean War, and published in 1855 a series of lithographs illustrating "The English and French fleets in the Baltic." He was now taken up by Queen Victoria and other members of the royal family, and was attached to the suites of the duke of Edinburgh and the prince of Wales on their tours by sea, the results being seen in further marine pictures by him; and in 1874 he was made marine-painter to the queen. He exhibited at the Academy, but more largely at the Royal Water-colour Society, his more important works including the historical pictures, "The Retreat of the Spanish Armada" (1871) and "The Loss of the Revenge" (1877). In 1885 he was knighted, and he died on the 14th of December 1894. He was twice married and had an active and prosperous life, but was no great artist; his best pictures are at Melbourne and Sydney.
BRIEUX, EUGÈNE (1858- ), French dramatist, was born in Paris of poor parents on the 19th of January 1858. A one-act play, Bernard Palissy, written in collaboration with M. Gaston Salandri, was produced in 1879, but he had to wait eleven years before he obtained another hearing, his Ménage d' artistes being produced by Antoine at the Théâtre Libre in 1890. His plays are essentially didactic, being aimed at some weakness or iniquity of the social system. Blanchette (1892) pointed out the evil results of education of girls of the working classes; M. de Réboval (1892) was directed against pharisaism; L'Engrenage (1894) against corruption in politics; Les Bienssaiteurs (1896) against the frivolity of fashionable charity; and L'Évasion (1896) satirized an indicriminate belief in the doctrine of heredity. Les Trois Filles de M. Dupont (1897) is a powerful, somewhat brutal, study of the miseries imposed on poor middle-class girls by the French system of dowry; Le Résultat des courses (1898) shows the evil results of betting among the Parisian workmen; La Robe rouge (1900) was directed against the injustices of the law; Les Remplaçantes (1901) against the practice of putting children out to nurse. Les Avariés (1901), forbidden by the censor, on account of its medical details, was read privately by the author at the Théâtre Antoine; and Petite amie (1902) describes the life of a Parisian shop-girl. Later plays are La Couvée (1903, acted privately at Rouen in 1893), Maternité (1904), La Déserteuse (1904), in collaboration with M. Jean Sigaux, and Les Hannetons, a comedy in three acts (1906).
BRIGADE (Fr. and Ger. brigade, Ital. brigata, Span. brigada; the English use of the word dates from the early 17th century), a unit in military organization commanded by a major-general, brigadier-general or colonel, and composed of two or more regiments of infantry, cavalry or artillery. The British infantry brigade consists as a rule of four battalions (or about 4000 bayonets) with supply, transport and medical units attached; the cavalry brigade of two or three regiments of cavalry. An artillery "brigade" (field, horse, and heavy) is in Great Britain a smaller unit, forming a lieut.-colonel's command and consisting of two or three batteries. (See Army, Artillery, Infantry, and Cavalry.) The staff of an infantry or cavalry brigade usually consists of the brigadier commanding, his aide-de-camp, and the brigade-major, a staff officer whose duties are intermediate between those of an adjutant and those of a general staff officer.
BRIGANDAGE. The brigand is supposed to derive his name from the O. Fr. brigan, which is a form of the Ital. brigante, an irregular or partisan soldier. There can be no doubt as to the origin of the word "bandit," which has the same meaning. In Italy, which is not unjustly considered the home of the most accomplished European brigands, a bandito was a man declared outlaw by proclamation, or bando, called in Scotland "a decree of horning" because it was delivered by a blast of a horn at the town cross. The brigand, therefore, is the outlaw who conducts warfare after the manner of an irregular or partisan soldier by skirmishes and surprises, who makes the war support itself by plunder, by extorting blackmail, by capturing prisoners and holding them to ransom, who enforces his demands by violence, and kills the prisoners who cannot pay. In certain conditions the brigand has not been a mere malefactor. "It is you who are the thieves"—"I Ladroni, siete voi,"—was the defence of the Calabrian who was tried as a brigand by a French court-martial during the reign of Murat in Naples. Brigandage may be, and not infrequently has been, the last resource of a people subject to invasion. The Calabrians who fought for Ferdinand of Naples, and the Spanish irregular levies, which maintained the national resistance against the French from 1808 to 1814, were called brigands by their enemies. In the Balkan peninsula, under Turkish rule, the brigands (called klephts by the Greeks and hayduks or haydutzi by the Slavs) had some claim to believe themselves the representatives of their people against oppressors. The only approach to an attempt to maintain order was the permission given to part of the population to carry arms in order to repress the klephts. They were hence called "armatoli." As a matter of fact the armatole were rather the allies than the enemies of the klephts. The invader who reduces a nation to anarchy, and then suffers from the disorder he creates, always calls his opponents brigands. It is a natural consequence of such a war, but a very disastrous one, for the people who have to have recourse to these methods of defence, that the brigand acquires some measure of honourable prestige from his temporary association with patriotism and honest men. The patriot band attracts the brigand proper, who is not averse to continue his old courses under an honourable pretext. "Viva Fernando y vamos robando" (Long life to Ferdinand, and let us go robbing) has been said by not unfair critics to have been the maxim of many Spanish guerrilleros. Italy and Spain suffered for a long time from the disorder developed out of the popular resistance to the French. Numbers of the guerrilleros of both countries, who in normal conditions might have been honest, had acquired a preference
for living on the country, and for occasional booty, which they could not resign when the enemy had retired. Their countrymen had to work for a second deliverance from their late defenders. In the East the brigand has had a freer scope, and has even founded kingdoms. David's following in the cave of Adullam was such material as brigands are made of. "And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men." Nadir Shah of Persia began in just such a cave of Adullam, and lived to plunder Delhi with a host of Persians and Afghans.
The conditions which favour the development of brigandage may be easily summed up. They are first bad administration, and then, in a less degree, the possession of convenient hiding-places. A country of mountain and forest is favourable to the brigand. The highlands of Scotland supplied a safe refuge to the "gentlemen reavers," who carried off the cattle of the Sassenach landlords. The Apennines, the mountains of Calabria, the Sierras of Spain, were the homes of the Italian "banditos" and the Spanish "bandoleros" (banished men) and "salteadores" (raiders). The forests of England gave cover to the outlaws whose very much flattered portrait is to be found in the ballads of Robin Hood. The "maquis," i.e. the bush of Corsica, and its hills, have helped the Corsican brigand, as the bush of Australia covered the bushranger. But neither forest thicket nor mountain is a lasting protection against a good police, used with intelligence by the government, and supported by the law-abiding part of the community. The great haunts of brigands in Europe have been central and southern Italy and the worst-administered parts of Spain, except those which fell into the hands of the Turks. "Whenever numerous troops of banditti, multiplied by success and impunity, publicly defy, instead of eluding, the justice of their country, we may safely infer that the excessive weakness of the government is felt and abused by the lowest ranks of the community," is the judgment passed by Gibbon on the disorders of Sicily in the reign of the emperor Gallienus. This weakness has not always been a sign of real feebleness in the government. England was vigorously ruled in the reign of William III., when "a fraternity of plunderers, thirty in number according to the lowest estimate, squatted near Waltham Cross under the shades of Epping Forest, and built themselves huts, from which they sallied forth with sword and pistol to bid passengers stand." It was not because the state was weak that the Gubbings (so called in contempt from the trimmings and refuse of fish) infested Devonshire for a generation from their headquarters near Brent Tor, on the edge of Dartmoor. It was because England had not provided herself with a competent rural police. In relatively unsettled parts of the United States there has been a considerable amount of a certain kind of brigandage. In early days the travel routes to the far West were infested by highwaymen, who, however, seldom united into bands, and such outlaws, when captured, were often dealt with in an extra-legal manner, e.g. by "vigilance committees." The Mexican brigand Cortina made incursions into Texas before the Civil War. In Canada the mounted police have kept brigandage down, and in Mexico the "Rurales" have made an end of the brigands. Such curable evils as the highwaymen of England, and their like in the States, are not to be compared with the "Écorcheurs," or Skinners, of France in the 15th century, or the "Chauffeurs" of the revolutionary epoch. The first were large bands of discharged mercenary soldiers who pillaged the country. The second were ruffians who forced their victims to pay ransom by holding their feet in fires. Both flourished because the government was for the time disorganized by foreign invasion or by revolution. These were far more terrible evils than the licence of criminals, who are encouraged by a fair prospect of impunity because there is no permanent force always at hand to check them, and to bring them promptly to justice. At the same time it would be going much too far to say that the absence of an efficient police is the sole cause of brigandage in countries not subject to foreign invasion, or where the state is not very feeble. The Sicilian peasants of whom Gibbon wrote were not only encouraged by the hope of impunity, but were also maddened by an oppressive system of taxation and a cruel system of land tenure. So were the Gauls and Spaniards who throughout the 3rd and 4th centuries were a constant cause of trouble to the empire, under the name of Bagaudae, a word of uncertain origin. In the years preceding the French Revolution, the royal government commanded the services of a strong army, and a numerous maréchaussée or gendarmerie. Yet it was defied by the troops of smugglers and brigands known as faux saulniers, unauthorized salt-sellers, and gangs of poachers haunted the king's preserves round Paris. The salt monopoly and the excessive preservation of the game were so oppressive that the peasantry were provoked to violent resistance and to brigandage. They were constantly suppressed, but as the cause of the disorder survived, so its effects were continually renewed. The offenders enjoyed a large measure of public sympathy, and were warned or concealed by the population, even when they were not actively supported. The traditional outlaw who spared the poor and levied tribute on the rich was, no doubt, always a creature of fiction. The ballad which tells us how "Rich, wealthy misers were abhorred, By brave, free-hearted Bliss" (a rascal hanged for highway robbery at Salisbury in 1695) must have been a mere echo of the Robin Hood songs. But there have been times and countries in which the law and its administration have been so far regarded as enemies by people who were not themselves criminals, that all who defied them have been sure of a measure of sympathy. Then and there it was that brigandage has flourished, and has been difficult to extirpate. Schinder-Hannes, Jack the Skinner, whose real name was Johann Buckler, and who was born at Muklen on the Rhine, flourished from 1797 to 1802 because there was no proper police to stop him; it is also true that as he chiefly plundered the Jews he had a good deal of Christian sympathy. When caught and beheaded he had no successors.
The brigandage of Greece, southern Italy, Corsica and Spain had deeper roots, and has never been quite suppressed. All four countries are well provided with hiding-places in forest and mountain. In all the administration has been bad, the law and its officers have been regarded as dangers, if not as deliberate enemies, so that they have found little native help, and, what is not the least important cause of the persistence of brigandage, there have generally been local potentates who found it to their interest to protect the brigand. The case of Greece under Turkish rule need not be dealt with. Whoever was not a klepht was the victim of some official extortioner. It would be grossly unfair to apply the name brigand to the Mainotes and similar clans, who had to choose between being flayed by the Turks or living by the sword under their own law. When it became independent Greece was extremely ill administered under a nominal parliamentary government by politicians who made use of the brigands for their own purposes. The result was the state of things described with only pardonable exaggeration in Edmond About's amusing Roi de la montagne. An authentic and most interesting picture of the Greek brigands will be found in the story of the captivity of S. Soteropoulos, an ex-minister who fell into their hands. It was translated into English under the title of The Brigands of the Morea, by the Rev. J.O. Bagdon (London, 1868). The misfortunes of Soteropoulos led to the adoption of strong measures which cleared the Morea, where the peasantry gave active support to the troops when they saw that the government was in earnest. But brigandage was not yet extinct in Greece. In 1870 an English party, consisting of Lord and Lady Muncaster, Mr Vyner, Mr Lloyd, Mr Herbert, and Count de Boyl, was captured at Oropos, near Marathon, and a ransom of £25,000 was demanded. Lord and Lady Muncaster were set at liberty to seek for the ransom, but the Greek government sent troops in pursuit of the brigands, and the other prisoners were then murdered. The scoundrels were hunted down, caught, and executed, and Greece has since then been tolerably free from this reproach. In the Balkan peninsula, under Turkish rule, brigandage continued to exist in connexion
with Christian revolt against the Turk, and the race conflicts of Albanians, Walachians, Pomuks, Bulgarians and Greeks. In Corsica the "maquis" has never been without its brigand hero, because industry has been stagnant, family feuds persist, and the government has never quite succeeded in persuading the people to support the law. The brigand is always a hero to at least one faction of Corsicans.
The conditions which favour brigandage have been more prevalent, and for longer, in Italy than elsewhere in western Europe, with the standing exception of Corsica, which is Italian in all but political allegiance. Until the middle of the 19th century Italy was divided into small states, so that the brigand who was closely pursued in one could flee to another. Thus it was that Marco Sciarra of the Abruzzi, when hard pressed by the Spanish viceroy of Naples—just before and after 1600—could cross the border of the papal states and return on a favourable opportunity. When pope and viceroy combined against him he took service with Venice, from whence he could communicate with his friends at home, and pay them occasional visits. On one such visit he was led into a trap and slain. Marco Sciarra had terrorized the country far and wide at the head of 600 men. He was the follower and imitator of Benedetto Mangone, of whom it is recorded that, having stopped a party of travellers which included Torquato Tasso, he allowed them to pass unharmed out of his reverence for poets and poetry. Mangone was finally taken, and beaten to death with hammers at Naples. He and his like are the heroes of much popular verse, written in ottava rima, and beginning with the traditional epic invocation to the muse. A fine example is "The most beautiful history of the life and death of Pietro Mancino, chief of Banditti," which has remained popular with the people of southern Italy. It begins:—
"Io canto li ricatti, e il fiero ardire
Del gran Pietro Mancino fuoruscito"
(Pietro Mancino that great outlawed man
I sing, and all his rage.)
In Naples the number of competing codes and jurisdictions, the survival of the feudal power of the nobles, who sheltered banditti, just as a Highland chief gave refuge to "caterans" in Scotland, and the helplessness of the peasantry, made brigandage chronic, and the same conditions obtained in Sicily. The Bourbon dynasty reduced brigandage very much, and secured order on the main high-roads. But it was not extinguished, and it revived during the French invasion. This was the flourishing time of the notorious Fra Diavolo, who began as brigand and blossomed into a patriot. Fra Diavolo was captured and executed by the French. When Ferdinand was restored on the fall of Napoleon he employed an English officer, General Sir Richard Church, to suppress the brigands. General Church, who kept good order among his soldiers, and who made them pay for everything, gained the confidence of the peasantry, and restored a fair measure of security. It was he who finally brought to justice the villainous Don Ciro Anicchiarico—priest and brigand—who declared at his trial with offhand indifference that he supposed he had murdered about seventy people first and last. When a brother priest was sent to give him the consolations of religion, Ciro cut him short, saying, "Stop that chatter, we are two of a trade: we need not play the fool to one another" (Lasciate queste chiacchiere, siamo dell' istessa professione: non ci burliamo fra noi). Every successive revolutionary disturbance in Naples saw a recrudescence of brigandage down to the unification of 1860-1861, and then it was years before the Italian government rooted it out. The source of the trouble was the support the brigands received from various kinds of "manuténgoli" (maintainers)—great men, corrupt officials, political parties, and the peasants who were terrorized, or who profited by selling the brigands food and clothes. In Sicily brigandage has been endemic. In 1866 two English travellers, Mr E.J.C. Moens and the Rev. J.C. Murray Aynesley, were captured and held to ransom. Mr Moens found that the "manuténgoli" of the brigands among the peasants charged famine prices for food, and extortionate prices for clothes and cartridges. What is true of Naples and Sicily is true of other parts of Italy mutatis mutandis. In Tuscany, Piedmont and Lombardy the open country has been orderly, but the borders infested with brigands. The worst district outside Calabria has been the papal states. The Austrian general, Frimont, did, however, partly clear the Romagna about 1820, though at a heavy cost of life to his soldiers—mostly Bohemian Jägers—from the malaria.
The history of brigandage in Spain is very similar. It may be said to have been endemic in and south of the Sierra Morena. In the north it has flourished when government was weak, and after foreign invasion and civil wars. But it has always been put down easily by a capable administration. It reached its greatest heights in Catalonia, where it began in the strife of the peasants against the feudal exactions of the landlords. It had its traditional hero, Roque Guinart, who figures in the second part of Don Quixote. The revolt against the house of Austria in 1640, and the War of the Succession (1700-1714), gave a great stimulus to Catalan brigandage. But it was then put down in a way for which Italy offers no precedent. A country gentleman named Pedro Veciana, hereditary balio (military and civil lieutenant) of the archbishop of Tarragona in the town of Valls, armed his farm-servants, and resisted the attacks of the brigands. With the help of neighbouring country gentlemen he formed a strong band, known as the Mozos (Boys) of Veciana. The brigands combined to get rid of him by making an attack on the town of Valls, but were repulsed with great loss. The government of Philip V. then commissioned Veciana to raise a special corps of police, the "escuadra de Cataluna," which still exists. For five generations the colonel of the escuadra was always a Veciana. At all times in central and northern Spain the country population has supported the police when the government would act firmly. Since the organization of the excellent constabulary called "La Guardia Civil" by the duke of Ahumada, about 1844, brigandage has been well kept down. At the close of the Carlist War in 1874 a few bands infested Catalonia, but one of the worst was surprised, and all its members battered to death with boxwood cudgels by a gang of charcoal-burners on the ruins of the castle of San Martin de Centellas. In such conditions as these brigandage cannot last. More sympathy is felt for "bandoleros" in the south, and there also they find Spanish equivalents for the "manuténgoli" of Italy. The tobacco smuggling from Gibraltar keeps alive a lawless class which sinks easily into pure brigandage. Perhaps the influence of the Berber blood in the population helps to prolong this barbarism. The Sierra Morena, and the Serrania de Ronda, have produced the bandits whose achievements form the subject of popular ballads, such as Francisco Esteban El Guapo (Francis Stephen, the Buck or Dandy), Don Juan de Serralonga, Pedranza, &c. The name of José Maria has been made familiar to all the world by Merimée's story, Carmen, and by Bizet's opera. José Maria, called El Tempranillo (the early bird), was a historical personage, a liberal in the rising against Ferdinand VII., 1820-1823, then a smuggler, then a "bandolero." He was finally bought off by the government, and took a commission to suppress the other brigands. Jose Maria was at last shot by one of them, whom he was endeavouring to arrest. The civil guard prevents brigandage from reaching any great height in normal times, but in 1905 a bandit of the old stamp, popularly known as "El Vivillo" (the Vital Spark), haunted the Serrania de Ronda.
The brigand life has been made the subject of much romance. But when stripped of fiction it appears that the bands have been mostly recruited by men who had been guilty of homicide, out of jealousy or in a gambling quarrel, and who remained in them not from love of the life, but from fear of the gallows. A reformed brigand, known as Passo di Lupo (Wolf's Step), confessed to Mr McFarlane about 1820 that the weaker members of the band were terrorized and robbed by the bullies, and that murderous conflicts were constant among them.
The "dacoits" or brigands of India were of the same stamp as their European colleagues. The Pindaris were more than brigands, and the Thugs were a religious sect.
Authorities.—The literature of brigandage, apart from pure romances, or official reports of trials, is naturally extensive. Mr
McFarlane's Lives and Exploits of Banditti and Robbers (London, 1837) is a useful introduction to the subject. The author saw a part of what he wrote about, and gives many references, particularly for Italy. A good bibliography of Spanish brigandage will be found in the Reseña Historica de la Guardia Civil of Eugenio de la Iglesia (Madrid, 1898). For actual pictures of the life, nothing is better than the English Travellers and Italian Brigands of W.J.C. Moens (London, 1866), and The Brigands of the Morea, by S. Soteropoulos, translated by the Rev. J.O. Bagdon (London, 1868).
(D. H.)
BRIGANDINE, a French word meaning the armour for the brigandi or brigantes, light-armed foot soldiers; part of the armour of a foot soldier in the middle ages, consisting of a padded tunic of canvas, leather, &c., and lined with closely sewn scales or rings of iron.
BRIGANTES (Celtic for "mountaineers" or "free, privileged"), a people of northern Britain, who inhabited the country from the mouth of the Abus (Humber) on the east and the Belisama (Mersey; according to others, Ribble) on the west as far northwards as the Wall of Antoninus. Their territory thus included most of Yorkshire, the whole of Lancashire, Durham, Westmorland, Cumberland and part of Northumberland. Their chief town was Eburacum (or Eboracum; York). They first came into contact with the Romans during the reign of Claudius, when they were defeated by Publius Ostorius Scapula. Under Vespasian they submitted to Petillius Cerealis, but were not finally subdued till the time of Antoninus Pius (Tac. Agricola, 17; Pausan. viii. 43. 4). The name of their eponymous goddess Brigantia is found on inscriptions (Corp. Inscr. Lat. vii. 200, 875, 1062; F. Haverfield in Archaeological Journal, xlix., 1892), and also that of a god Bergans = Brigans (Ephemeris Epigraphica, vii. No. 920). A branch of the Brigantes also settled in the south-east corner of Ireland, near the river Birgus (Barrow).
See A. Holder, Altceltischer Sprachschatz, i. (1896), for ancient authorities; J. Rhys, Celtic Britain (3rd ed., 1904); Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie, iii. pt. i. (1897).
BRIGG (properly Glanford Briggs or Glamford Bridge), a market town in the North Lindsey or Brigg parliamentary division of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the river Ancholme, which affords water communication with the Humber. Pop. of urban district (1901) 3137. It is 23 m. by road north of Lincoln, and is served by the Grimsby line of the Great Central railway. Trade is principally agricultural. In 1885 a remarkable boat, assigned to early British workmanship, was unearthed near the river; it is hollowed out of the trunk of an oak, and measures 48 ft. 6 in. by about 5 ft. Other prehistoric relics have also been discovered.
BRIGGS, CHARLES AUGUSTUS (1841- ), American Hebrew scholar and theologian, was born in New York City on the 15th of January 1841. He was educated at the university of Virginia (1857-1860), graduated at the Union Theological Seminary in 1863, and studied further at the university of Berlin. He was pastor of the Presbyterian church of Roselle, New Jersey, 1869-1874, and professor of Hebrew and cognate languages in Union Theological Seminary 1874-1891, and of Biblical theology there from 1891 to 1904, when he became professor of theological encyclopaedia and symbolics. From 1880 to 1890 he was an editor of the Presbyterian Review. In 1892 he was tried for heresy by the presbytery of New York and acquitted. The charges were based upon his inaugural address of the preceding year. In brief they were as follows: that he had taught that reason and the Church are each a "fountain of divine authority which apart from Holy Scripture may and does savingly enlighten men"; that "errors may have existed in the original text of the Holy Scripture"; that "many of the Old Testament predictions have been reversed by history" and that "the great body of Messianic prediction has not and cannot be fulfilled"; that "Moses is not the author of the Pentateuch," and that "Isaiah is not the author of half of the book which bears his name"; that "the processes of redemption extend to the world to come"—he had considered it a fault of Protestant theology that it limits redemption to this world—and that "sanctification is not complete at death." The general assembly, to which the case was appealed, suspended Dr Briggs in 1893, being influenced, it would seem, in part, by the manner and tone of his expressions—by what his own colleagues in the Union Theological Seminary called the "dogmatic and irritating" nature of his inaugural address. He was ordained a priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1899. His scholarship procured for him the honorary degree of D.D. from Edinburgh (1884) and from Glasgow (1901), and that of Litt.D. from Oxford (1901). With S.R. Driver and Francis Brown he prepared a revised Hebrew and English Lexicon (1891-1905), and with Driver edited the "International Commentary Series." His publications include Biblical Study: Its Principles, Methods and History (1883); Hebrew Poems of the Creation (1884); American Presbyterianism: Its Origin and Early History (1885); Messianic Prophecy (1886); Whither? A Theological Question for the Times (1889); The Authority of the Holy Scripture (1891); The Bible, the Church and the Reason (1892); The Higher Criticism of the Hexateuch (1893); The Messiah of the Gospels (1804), The Messiah of the Apostles (1894); New Light on the Life of Jesus (1904); The Ethical Teaching of Jesus (1904); A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms (2 vols., 1906-1907), in which he was assisted by his daughter; and The Virgin Birth of Our Lord (1909).
BRIGGS, HENRY (1556-1630), English mathematician, was born at Warley Wood, near Halifax, in Yorkshire. He graduated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1581, and obtained a fellowship in 1588. In 1592 he was made reader of the physical lecture founded by Dr Thomas Linacre, and in 1596 first professor of geometry in Gresham House (afterwards College), London. In his lectures at Gresham House he proposed the alteration of the scale of logarithms from the hyperbolic form which John Napier had given them, to that in which unity is assumed as the logarithm of the ratio of ten to one; and soon afterwards he wrote to the inventor on the subject. In 1616 he paid a visit to Napier at Edinburgh in order to discuss the suggested change; and next year he repeated his visit for a similar purpose. During these conferences the alteration proposed by Briggs was agreed upon; and on his return from his second visit to Edinburgh in 1617 he accordingly published the first chiliad of his logarithms. (See Napier, John.) In 1619 he was appointed Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford, and resigned his professorship of Gresham College on the 25th of July 1620. Soon after his settlement at Oxford he was incorporated master of arts. In 1622 he published a small tract on the North-West Passage to the South Seas, through the Continent of Virginia and Hudson's Bay; and in 1624 his Arithmetica Logarithmica, in folio, a work containing the logarithms of thirty thousand natural numbers to fourteen places of figures besides the index. He also completed a table of logarithmic sines and tangents for the hundredth part of every degree to fourteen places of figures besides the index, with a table of natural sines to fifteen places, and the tangents and secants for the same to ten places; all of which were printed at Gouda in 1631 and published in 1633 under the title of Trigonometria Britannica (see Table, Mathematical). Briggs died on the 26th of January 1630, and was buried in Merton College chapel, Oxford. Dr Smith, in his Lives of the Gresham Professors, characterizes him as a man of great probity, a contemner of riches, and contented with his own station, preferring a studious retirement to all the splendid circumstances of life.
His works are: A Table to find the Height of the Pole, the Magnetical Declination being given (London, 1602, 4to); "Tables for the Improvement of Navigation," printed in the second edition of Edward Wright's treatise entitled Certain Errors in Navigation detected and corrected (London, 1610, 4to); A Description of an Instrumental Table to find the part proportional, devised by Mr Edward Wright (London, 1616 and 1618, 12mo); Logarithmorum Chilias prima (London, 1617, 8vo); Lucubrationes et Annotationes in opera posthuma J. Neperi (Edinburgh, 1619, 4to); Euclidis Elementorum VI. libri priores (London, 1620. folio); A Treatise on the North-West Passage to the South Sea (London, 1622, 4to), reprinted in Purchas's Pilgrims, vol. iii. p. 852; Arithmetica Logarithmica (London, 1624, folio); Trigonometria Britannica (Goudae, 1663, folio); two Letters to Archbishop Usher; Mathematica ab Antiquis minus cognita. Some other works, as his Commentaries on the Geometry of Peter Ramus, and Remarks on the Treatise of Longomontanus respecting the Quadrature of the Circle, have not been published.
BRIGHOUSE, a municipal borough in the Elland parliamentary division of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, 5½ m. N. of Huddersfield by the Lancashire & Yorkshire railway, on the river Calder. Pop. (1901) 21,735. It is in the heart of the manufacturing district of the West Riding, and has large woollen and worsted factories; carpets, machinery and soap are also produced. The town was incorporated in 1893, and is governed by a mayor, 8 aldermen and 24 councillors. Area, 2231 acres.
BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON (1832-1888), English telegraph engineer, who came of an old Yorkshire family, was born on the 8th of June 1832, at Wanstead, Essex. At the age of fifteen he became a clerk under the Electric Telegraph Company. His talent for electrical engineering was soon shown, and his progress was rapid; so that in 1852 he was appointed engineer to the Magnetic Telegraph Company, and in that capacity superintended the laying of lines in various parts of the British Isles, including in 1853 the first cable between Great Britain and Ireland, from Portpatrick to Donaghadee. His experiments convinced him of the practicability of an electric submarine cable connexion between Ireland and America; and having in 1855 already discussed the question with Cyrus Field, who with J. W. Brett controlled the Newfoundland Telegraph Company on the other side of the ocean, Bright organized with them the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856 for the purpose of carrying out the idea, himself becoming engineer-in-chief. The story of the first Atlantic cable is told elsewhere (see Telegraph), and it must suffice here to say that in 1858, after two disappointments, Bright successfully accomplished what to many had seemed an impossible feat, and within a few days of landing the Irish end of the line at Valentia he was knighted in Dublin. Subsequently Sir Charles Bright supervised the laying of submarine cables in various regions of the world, and took a leading part as pioneer in other developments of the electrical industry. In conjunction with Josiah Latimer Clark, with whom he entered into partnership in 1861, he invented improved methods of insulating submarine cables, and a paper on electrical standards read by them before the British Association in the same year led to the establishment of the British Association committee on that subject, whose work formed the foundations of the system still in use. From 1865 to 1868 he was Liberal M.P. for Greenwich. He died on the 3rd of May 1888, at Abbey Wood, near London.
See Life Story of Sir C. T. Bright, by his son Charles Bright (revised ed. 1908).
BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-1889), British statesman, was born at Rochdale on the 16th of November 1811. His father, Jacob Bright, was a much-respected Quaker, who had started a cottonmill at Rochdale in 1809. The family had reached Lancashire by two migrations. Abraham Bright was a Wiltshire yeoman, who, early in the 18th century, removed to Coventry, where his descendants remained, and where, in 1775, Jacob Bright was born. Jacob Bright was educated at the Ackworth school of the Society of Friends, and was apprenticed to a fustian manufacturer at New Mills. He married his employer's daughter, and settled with his two brothers-in-law at Rochdale in 1802, going into business for himself seven years later. His first wife died without children, and in 1809 he married Martha Wood, daughter of a tradesman of Bolton-le-Moors. She had been educated at Ackworth school, and was a woman of great strength of character and refined taste. There were eleven children of this marriage, of whom John Bright was the second, but the death of his elder brother in childhood made him the eldest son. He was a delicate child, and was sent as a day-scholar to a boarding-school near his home, kept by Mr William Littlewood. A year at the Ackworth school, two years at a school at York, and a year and a half at Newton, near Clitheroe, completed his education. He learned, he himself said, but little Latin and Greek, but acquired a great love of English literature, which his mother fostered, and a love of outdoor pursuits. In his sixteenth year he entered his father's mill, and in due time became a partner in the business. Two agitations were then going on in Rochdale—the first (in which Jacob Bright was a leader) in opposition to a local church-rate, and the second for parliamentary reform, by which Rochdale successfully claimed to have a member allotted to it under the Reform Bill. In both these movements John Bright took part. He was an ardent Nonconformist, proud to number among his ancestors John Gratton, a friend of George Fox, and one of the persecuted and imprisoned preachers of the Society of Friends. His political interest was probably first kindled by the Preston election in 1830, in which Lord Stanley, after a long struggle, was defeated by "Orator" Hunt. But it was as a member of the Rochdale Juvenile Temperance Band that he first learned public speaking. These young men went out into the villages, borrowed a chair of a cottager, and spoke from it at open-air meetings. In Mrs John Mills's life of her husband is an account of John Bright's first extempore speech. It was at a temperance meeting. Bright got his notes muddled, and broke down. The chairman gave out a temperance song, and during the singing told Bright to put his notes aside and say what came into his mind. Bright obeyed, began with much hesitancy, but found his tongue and made an excellent address. On some early occasions, however, he committed his speech to memory. In 1832 he called on the Rev. John Aldis, an eminent Baptist minister, to accompany him to a local Bible meeting. Mr Aldis described him as a slender, modest young gentleman, who surprised him by his intelligence and thoughtfulness, but who seemed nervous as they walked to the meeting together. At the meeting he made a stimulating speech, and on the way home asked for advice. Mr Aldis counselled him not to learn his speeches, but to write out and commit to memory certain passages and the peroration. Bright took the advice, and acted on it all his life.
This "first lesson in public speaking," as Bright called it, was given in his twenty-first year, but he had not then contemplated entering on a public career. He was a fairly prosperous man of business, very happy in his home, and always ready to take part in the social, educational and political life of his native town. He was one of the founders of the Rochdale Literary and Philosophical Society, took a leading part in its debates, and on returning from a holiday journey in the East, gave the society a lecture on his travels. He first met Richard Cobden in 1836 or 1837. Cobden was an alderman of the newly formed Manchester corporation, and Bright went to ask him to speak at an education meeting in Rochdale. "I found him," said Bright, "in his office in Mosley Street, introduced myself to him, and told him what I wanted." Cobden consented, and at the meeting was much struck by Bright's short speech, and urged him to speak against the Corn Laws. His first speech on the Corn Laws was made at Rochdale in 1838, and in the same year he joined the Manchester provisional committee which in 1839 founded the Anti-Corn Law League He was still only the local public man, taking part in all public movements, especially in opposition to John Feilden's proposed factory legislation, and to the Rochdale church-rate. In 1839 he built the house which he called "One Ash," and married Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan Priestman of Newcastle-on-Tyne. In November of the same year there was a dinner at Bolton to Abraham Paulton, who had just returned from a successful Anti-Corn Law tour in Scotland. Among the speakers were Cobden and Bright, and the dinner is memorable as the first occasion on which the two future leaders appeared together on a Free Trade platform. Bright is described by the historian of the League as "a young man then appearing for the first time in any meeting out of his own town, and giving evidence, by his energy and by his grasp of the subject, of his capacity soon to take a leading part in the great agitation." But his call had not yet come. In 1840 he led a movement against the Rochdale church-rate, speaking from a tombstone in the churchyard, where it looks down on the town in the valley below. A very happy married life at home contented him, and at the opening of the Free Trade hall in January 1840 he sat with the Rochdale deputation, undistinguished in the body of the meeting. A daughter, Helen, was born to him; but his young wife, after a long illness, died of consumption in September 1841. Three days after her death at Leamington, Cobden called to see him. "I was in the depths of grief," said Bright, when unveiling
the statue of his friend at Bradford in 1877, "I might almost say of despair, for the life and sunshine of my house had been extinguished." Cobden spoke some words of condolence, but after a time he looked up and said, 'There are thousands of homes in England at this moment where wives, mothers and children are dying of hunger. Now, when the first paroxysm of your grief is past, I would advise you to come with me, and we will never rest till the Corn Laws are repealed.' "I accepted his invitation," added Bright, "and from that time we never ceased to labour hard on behalf of the resolution which we had made." At the general election in 1841 Cobden was returned for Stockport, and in 1843 Bright was the Free Trade candidate at a by-election at Durham. He was defeated, but his successful competitor was unseated on petition, and at the second contest Bright was returned. He was already known in the country as Cobden's chief ally, and was received in the House of Commons with a suspicion and hostility even greater than had met Cobden himself. In the Anti-Corn Law movement the two speakers were the complements and correlatives of each other. Cobden had the calmness and confidence of the political philosopher, Bright had the passion and the fervour of the popular orator. Cobden did the reasoning, Bright supplied the declamation, but like Demosthenes he mingled argument with appeal. No orator of modern times rose more rapidly to a foremost place. He was not known beyond his own borough when Cobden called him to his side in 1841, and he entered parliament towards the end of the session of 1843 with a formidable reputation as an agitator. He had been all over England and Scotland addressing vast meetings and, as a rule, carrying them with him; he had taken a leading part in a conference held by the Anti-Corn Law League in London, had led deputations to the duke of Sussex, to Sir James Graham, then home secretary, and to Lord Ripon and Mr Gladstone, the secretary and under secretary of the Board of Trade; and he was universally recognized as the chief orator of the Free Trade movement. Wherever "John Bright of Rochdale" was announced to speak, vast crowds assembled. He had been so announced, for the last time, at the first great meeting in Drury Lane theatre on 15th March 1843; henceforth his name was enough. He took his seat in the House of Commons as one of the members for Durham on 28th July 1843, and on 7th August delivered his maiden speech in support of a motion by Mr Ewart for reduction of import duties. He was there, he said, "not only as one of the representatives of the city of Durham, but also as one of the representatives of that benevolent organization, the Anti-Corn Law League." A member who heard the speech described Bright as "about the middle size, rather firmly and squarely built, with a fair, clear complexion, and an intelligent and pleasing expression of countenance. His voice is good, his enunciation distinct, and his delivery free from any unpleasant peculiarity or mannerism." He wore the usual Friend's coat, and was regarded with much interest and hostile curiosity on both sides of the House.
Mr Ewart's motion was defeated, but the movement of which Cobden and Bright were the leaders continued to spread. In the autumn the League resolved to raise £100,000; an appeal was made to the agricultural interest by great meetings in the farming counties, and in November The Times startled the world by declaring, in a leading article, "The League is a great fact. It would be foolish, nay, rash, to deny its importance." In London great meetings were held in Covent Garden theatre, at which William Johnson Fox was the chief orator, but Bright and Cobden were the leaders of the movement. Bright publicly deprecated the popular tendency to regard Cobden and himself as the chief movers in the agitation, and Cobden told a Rochdale audience that he always stipulated that he should speak first, and Bright should follow. His "more stately genius," as Mr John Morley calls it, was already making him the undisputed master of the feelings of his audiences. In the House of Commons his progress was slower. Cobden's argumentative speeches were regarded more sympathetically than Bright's more rhetorical appeals, and in a debate on Villiers's annual motion against the Corn Laws Bright was heard with so much impatience that he was obliged to sit down. In the next session (1845) he moved for an inquiry into the operation of the Game Laws. At a meeting of county members earlier in the day Peel had advised them not to be led into discussion by a violent speech from the member for Durham, but to let the committee be granted without debate. Bright was not violent, and Cobden said that he did his work admirably, and won golden opinions from all men. The speech established his position in the House of Commons. In this session Bright and Cobden came into opposition, Cobden voting for the Maynooth Grant and Bright against it. On only one other occasion—a vote for South Kensington—did they go into opposite lobbies, during twenty-five years of parliamentary life. In the autumn of 1845 Bright retained Cobden in the public career to which Cobden had invited him four years before. Bright was in Scotland when a letter came from Cobden announcing his determination, forced on him by business difficulties, to retire from public work. Bright replied that if Cobden retired the mainspring of the League was gone. "I can in no degree take your place," he wrote. "As a second I can fight, but there are incapacities about me, of which I am fully conscious, which prevent my being more than second in such a work as we have laboured in." A few days later he set off for Manchester, posting in that wettest of autumns through "the rain that rained away the Corn Laws," and on his arrival got his friends together, and raised the money which tided Cobden over the emergency. The crisis of the struggle had come. Peel's budget in 1845 was a first step towards Free Trade. The bad harvest and the potato disease drove him to the repeal of the Corn Laws, and at a meeting in Manchester on 2nd July 1846 Cobden moved and Bright seconded a motion dissolving the league. A library of twelve hundred volumes was presented to Bright as a memorial of the struggle.
Bright married, in June 1847, Miss Margaret Elizabeth Leatham, of Wakefield, by whom he had seven children, Mr John Albert Bright being the eldest. In the succeeding July he was elected for Manchester, with Mr Milner Gibson, without a contest. In the new parliament, as in the previous session, he opposed legislation restricting the hours of labour, and, as a Nonconformist, spoke against clerical control of national education. In 1848 he voted for Hume's household suffrage motion, and introduced a bill for the repeal of the Game Laws. When Lord John Russell brought forward his Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, Bright opposed it as "a little, paltry, miserable measure," and foretold its failure. In this parliament he spoke much on Irish questions. In a speech in favour of the government bill for a rate in aid in 1849, he won loud cheers from both sides, and was complimented by Disraeli for having sustained the reputation of that assembly. From this time forward he had the ear of the House, and took effective part in the debates. He spoke against capital punishment, against church-rates, against flogging in the army, and against the Irish Established Church. He supported Cobden's motion for the reduction of public expenditure, and in and out of parliament pleaded for peace. In the election of 1852 he was again returned for Manchester on the principles of free trade, electoral reform and religious freedom. But war was in the air, and the most impassioned speeches he ever delivered were addressed to this parliament in fruitless opposition to the Crimean War. Neither the House nor the country would listen. "I went to the House on Monday," wrote Macaulay in March 1854, "and heard Bright say everything I thought." His most memorable speech, the greatest he ever made, was delivered on the 23rd of February 1855. "The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land. You may almost hear the beating of his wings," he said, and concluded with an appeal to the prime minister that moved the House as it had never been moved within living memory. There was a tremor in Bright's voice in the touching parts of his great speeches which stirred the feelings even of hostile listeners. It was noted for the first time in this February speech, but the most striking instance was in a speech on Mr Osborne Morgan's Burials Bill in April 1875, in which he described a Quaker funeral, and protested against the "miserable superstition of the phrase 'buried like a dog.'" "In that sense," he said,
"I shall be buried like a dog, and all those with whom I am best acquainted, whom I best love and esteem, will be 'buried like a dog.' Nay more, my own ancestors, who in past time suffered persecution for what is now held to be a righteous cause, have all been buried like dogs, if that phrase is true." The tender, half-broken tones in which these words were said, the inexpressible pathos of his voice and manner, were never forgotten by those who heard that Wednesday morning speech.
Bright was disqualified by illness during the whole of 1856 and 1857. In Palmerston's penal dissolution in the latter year, Bright was rejected by Manchester, but in August, while ill and absent, Birmingham elected him without a contest. He returned to parliament in 1858, and in February seconded the motion which threw out Lord Palmerston's government. Lord Derby thereupon came into office for the second time, and Bright had the satisfaction of assisting in the passing of two measures which he had long advocated—the admission of Jews to parliament and the transfer of the government of India from the East India Company to the crown. He was now restored to full political activity, and in October addressed his new constituents, and started a movement for parliamentary reform. He spoke at great gatherings at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bradford and Manchester, and his speeches filled the papers. For the next nine years he was the protagonist of Reform. Towards the close of the struggle he told the House of Commons that a thousand meetings had been held, that at every one the doors were open for any man to enter, yet that an almost unanimous vote for reform had been taken. In the debates on the Reform Bills submitted to the House of Commons from 1859. to 1867, Bright's was the most influential voice. He rebuked Lowe's "Botany Bay view," and described Horsman as retiring to his "cave of Adullam," and hooking in Lowe. "The party of two," he said, "reminds me of the Scotch terrier, which was so covered with hair that you could not tell which was the head and which was the tail." These and similar phrases, such as the excuse for withdrawing the Reform Bill in the year of the great budget of 1860—"you cannot get twenty wagons at once through Temple Bar"—were in all men's mouths. It was one of the triumphs of Bright's oratory that it constantly produced these popular cries. The phrase "a free breakfast table" was his; and on the rejection of Forster's Compensation for Disturbance Bill he used the phrase as to Irish discontent, "Force is not a remedy."
During his great reform agitation Bright had vigorously supported Cobden in the negotiations for the treaty of commerce with France, and had taken, with his usual vehemence, the side of the North in the discussions in England on the American Civil War. In March 1865 Cobden died, and Bright told the House of Commons he dared not even attempt to express the feelings which oppressed him, and sat down overwhelmed with grief. Their friendship was one of the most characteristic features of the public life of their time. "After twenty years of intimate and almost brotherly friendship with him," said Bright, "I little knew how much I loved him till I had lost him." In June 1865 parliament was dissolved, and Bright was returned for Birmingham without opposition. Palmerston's death in the early autumn brought Lord John Russell into power, and for the first time Bright gave his support to the government. Russell's fourth Reform Bill was introduced, was defeated by the Adullamites, and the Derby-Disraeli ministry was installed. Bright declared Lord Derby's accession to be a declaration of war against the working classes, and roused the great towns in the demand for reform. Bright was the popular hero of the time. As a political leader the winter of 1866-1867 was the culminating point in his career. The Reform Bill was carried with a clause for minority representation, and in the autumn of 1868 Bright, with two Liberal colleagues, was again returned for Birmingham. Mr Gladstone came into power with a programme of Irish reform in church and land such as Bright had long urged, and he accepted the post of president of the Board of Trade. He thus became a member of the privy council, with the title of Right Honourable, and from this time forth was a recognized leader of the Liberal party in parliament and in the country. He made a great speech on the second reading of the Irish Church Bill, and wrote a letter on the House of Lords, in which he said, "In harmony with the nation they may go on for a long time, but throwing themselves athwart its course they may meet with accidents not pleasant for them to think of." He also spoke strongly in the same session in favour of the bill permitting marriage with a deceased wife's sister. The next session found him disqualified by a severe illness, which caused his retirement from office at the end of the year, and kept him out of public life for four years. In August 1873 Mr Gladstone reconstructed his cabinet, and Bright returned to it as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. But his hair had become white, and though he spoke again with much of his former vigour, he was now an old man. In the election in January 1874 Bright and his colleagues were returned for Birmingham without opposition. When Mr Gladstone resigned the leadership of his party in 1875, Bright was chairman of the party meeting which chose Lord Hartington as his successor. He took a less prominent part in political discussion till the Eastern Question brought Great Britain to the verge of war with Russia, and his old energy flamed up afresh. In the debate on the vote of credit in February 1878, he made one of his impressive speeches, urging the government not to increase the difficulties manufacturers had in finding employment for their workpeople by any single word or act which could shake confidence in business. The debate lasted five days. On the fifth day a telegram from Mr Layard was published announcing that the Russians were nearing Constantinople. The day, said The Times, "was crowded with rumours, alarms, contradictions, fears, hopes, resolves, uncertainties." In both Houses Mr Layard's despatch was read, and in the excited Commons Mr Forster's resolution opposing the vote of credit was withdrawn. Bright, however, distrusted the ambassador at the Porte, and gave reasons for doubting the alarming telegram. While he was speaking a note was put into the hands of Sir Stafford Northcote, and when Bright sat down he read it to the House. It was a confirmation from the Russian prime minister of Bright's doubts: "There is not a word of truth in the rumours which have reached you." At the general election in 1880 he was re-elected at Birmingham, and joined Mr Gladstone's new government as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. For two sessions he spoke and voted with his colleagues, but after the bombardment of the Alexandria forts he left the ministry and never held office again. He felt most painfully the severance from his old and trusted leader, but it was forced on him by his conviction of the danger and impolicy of foreign entanglements. He, however, gave a general support to Mr Gladstone's government. In 1883 he took the chair at a meeting of the Liberation Society in Mr Spurgeon's chapel; and in June of that year was the object of an unparalleled demonstration at Birmingham to celebrate his twenty-five years of service as its representative. At this celebration he spoke strongly of "the Irish rebel party," and accused the Conservatives of "alliance" with them, but withdrew the imputation when Sir Stafford Northcote moved that such language was a breach of the privileges of the House of Commons. At a banquet to Lord Spencer he accused the Irish members of having "exhibited a boundless sympathy for criminals and murderers." He refused in the House of Commons to apologise for these words, and was supported in his refusal by both sides of the House. At the Birmingham election in 1885 he stood for the central division of the redistributed constituency; he was opposed by Lord Randolph Churchill, but was elected by a large majority. In the new parliament he voted against the Home Rule Bill, and it was generally felt that in the election of 1886 which followed its defeat, when he was re-elected without opposition, his letters told with fatal effect against the Home Rule Liberals. His contribution to the discussion was a suggestion that the Irish members should form a grand committee to which every Irish bill should go after first reading. The break-up of the Liberal party filled him with gloom. His last speech at Birmingham was on 29th March 1888, at a banquet to celebrate Mr Chamberlain's return from his peace mission to the United States. He spoke of imperial federation as a "dream and an absurdity." In May his illness returned, he took to his bed in
October, and died on the 27th of March 1889. He was buried in the graveyard of the meeting-house of the Society of Friends in Rochdale.
Bright had much literary and social recognition in his later years. In 1882 he was elected lord rector of the university of Glasgow, and Dr Dale wrote of his rectorial address: "It was not the old Bright." "I am weary of public speaking," he had told Dr Dale; "my mind is almost a blank." He was given an honorary degree of the university of Oxford in 1886, and in 1888 a statue of him was erected at Birmingham. The 3rd marquess of Salisbury said of him, and it sums up his character as a public man: "He was the greatest master of English oratory that this generation—I may say several generations—has seen.... At a time when much speaking has depressed, has almost exterminated eloquence, he maintained that robust, powerful and vigorous style in which he gave fitting expression to the burning and noble thoughts he desired to utter."
See The Life and Speeches of the Right Hon. John Bright, M.P., by George Barnett Smith, 2 vols. 8vo (1881); The Life of John Bright, M.P., by John McGilchrist, in Cassell's Representative Biographies (1868); John Bright, by C.A. Vince (1898); Speeches on Parliamentary Reform by John Bright, M.P., revised by Himself (1866); Speeches on Questions of Public Policy, by John Bright, M.P., edited by J.E. Thorold Rogers, 2 vols. 8vo (1868); Public Addresses, edited by J.E. Thorold Rogers, 8vo (1879); Public Letters of the Right Hon. John Bright, M.P., collected by H.J. Leech (1885).
(P. W. C.)
BRIGHTLINGSEA (pronounced Brittlesea), a port and fishing station in the Harwich parliamentary division of Essex, England, on a creek opening from the east shore of the Colne estuary, the terminus of a branch from Colchester of the Great Eastern railway, 62½ m. E.N.E. of London. Pop. of urban district (1901) 4501. The Colchester oyster beds are mainly in this part of the Colne, and the oyster fishery is the chief industry. Boat-building is carried on. This is also a favourite yachting centre. The church of All Saints, principally Perpendicular, has interesting monuments and brasses, and a fine lofty tower and west front. Brightlingsea, which appears in Domesday, is a member of the Cinque Port of Sandwich in Kent. Near the opposite shore of the creek is St Osyth's priory, which originated as a nunnery founded by Osyth, a grand-daughter of Penda, king of Mercia, martyred (c. 653) by Norse invaders. A foundation for Augustinian canons followed on the site early in the 12th century. The remains, incorporated with a modern residence, include a late Perpendicular gateway, abbots' tower, clock tower and crypt. The gateway, an embattled structure with flanking turrets, is particularly fine, the entire front being panelled and ornamented with canopied niches. The church of St Osyth, also Perpendicular in the main, is of interest.
BRIGHTON, a watering-place of Bourke county, Victoria, Australia, 7½ m. by rail S.E. of Melbourne, of which it is practically a suburb. It stands on the east shore of Port Phillip, and has two piers, a great extent of sandy beach and numerous beautiful villas. Pop. (1901) 10,029.
BRIGHTON, a municipal, county and parliamentary borough of Sussex, England, one of the best-known seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, 51 m. S. from London by the London, Brighton & South Coast railway. Pop. (1901) 123,478. Its ready accessibility from the metropolis is the chief factor in its popularity. It is situated on the seaward slope of the South Downs; the position is sheltered from inclement winds, and the climate is generally mild. The sea-front, overlooking the English Channel, stretches nearly 4 m. from Kemp Town on the east to Hove (a separate municipal borough) on the west. Inland, including the suburb of Preston, the town extends some 2 m. The tendency of the currents in the Channel opposite Brighton is to drive the shingle eastward, and encroachments of the sea were frequent and serious until the erection of a massive sea-wall, begun about 1830, 60 ft. high, 23 ft. thick at the base, and 3 ft. at the summit. There are numerous modern churches and chapels, many of them very handsome; and the former parish church of St Nicholas remains, a Decorated structure containing a Norman font and a memorial to the great duke of Wellington. The incumbency of Trinity Chapel was held by the famous preacher Frederick William Robertson (1847-1853). The town hall and the parochial offices are the principal administrative buildings. Numerous institutions contribute to the entertainment of visitors. Of these the most remarkable is the Pavilion, built as a residence for the prince regent (afterwards George IV.) and remodelled in 1819 by the architect, John Nash, in a grotesque Eastern style of architecture. In 1849 it was purchased by the town for £53,000, and is devoted to various public uses, containing a museum, assembly-rooms and picture-galleries. The detached building, formerly the stables, is converted into a fine concert hall; it is lighted by a vast glazed dome approaching that of St Paul's cathedral, London, in dimensions. There are several theatres and music-halls. The aquarium, the property of the corporation, contains an excellent marine collection, but is also used as a concert hall and winter garden, and a garden is laid out on its roof. The Booth collection of British birds, bequeathed to the corporation by E.T. Booth, was opened in 1893. There are two piers, of which the Palace pier, near the site of the old chain pier (1823), which was washed away in 1896, is near the centre of the town, while the West pier is towards Hove. Preston and Queen's parks are the principal of several public recreation grounds; and the racecourse at Kemp Town is also the property of the town. Educational establishments are numerous, and include Brighton College, which ranks high among English public schools. There are municipal schools of science, technology and art. St Mary's Hall (1836) is devoted to the education of poor clergymen's daughters. Among many hospitals, the county hospital (1828), "open to the sick and lame poor of every country and nation," may be mentioned. There are an extensive mackerel and herring fishery, and motor engineering works. The parliamentary borough, which includes the parish of Hove, returns two members. The county borough was created in 1888. The municipal borough is under a mayor, 14 aldermen and 42 councillors. Area, 2536 acres.
Although there is evidence of Roman and Saxon occupation of the site, the earliest mention of Brighton (Bristelmeston, Brichelmestone, Brighthelmston) is the Domesday Book record that its three manors belonged to Earl Godwin and were held by William de Warenne. Of these, two passed to the priories of Lewes and Michelham respectively, and after the dissolution of the monasteries were subject to frequent sale and division. The third descended to the earls of Arundel, falling to the share of the duke of Norfolk in 1415, and being divided in 1502 between the families of Howard and Berkeley. That Brighton was a large fishing village in 1086 is evident from the rent of 4000 herrings; in 1285 it had a separate constable, and in 1333 it was assessed for a tenth, and fifteenth at £5:4:6¾, half the assessment of Shoreham. In 1340 there were no merchants there, only tenants of lands, but its prosperity increased during the 15th and 16th centuries, and it was assessed at £6:12:8 in 1534. There is, however, no indication that it was a borough. In 1580 commissioners sent to decide disputes between the fishermen and landsmen found that from time immemorial Brighton had been governed by two head boroughs sitting in the borough court, and assisted by a council called the Twelve. This constitution disappeared before 1772, when commissioners were appointed. Brighton refused a charter offered by George, prince of Wales, but was incorporated in 1854. It had become a parliamentary borough in 1832. From a fishing town in 1656 it became a fashionable resort in 1756; its popularity increased after the visit of the prince of Wales (see George IV.) to the duke of Cumberland in 1783, and was ensured by his building the Pavilion in 1784-1787, and his adoption of it as his principal residence; and his association with Mrs Fitzherbert at Brighton was the starting-point of its fashionable repute.
See Victoria County History—Sussex; Sussex Archaeological Society Transactions, vol. ii.; L. Melville, Brighton, its History, its Follies and its Fashions (London, 1909).
BRIGHT'S DISEASE, a term in medicine applied to a class of diseases of the kidneys (acute and chronic nephritis) which have as their most prominent symptom the presence of albumen in the urine, and frequently also the coexistence of dropsy.
These associated symptoms in connexion with kidney disease were first described in 1827 by Dr Richard Bright (1789-1858). Since that period it has been established that the symptoms, instead of being, as was formerly supposed, the result of one form of disease of the kidneys, may be dependent on various morbid conditions of those organs (see Kidney Diseases). Hence the term Bright's disease, which is retained in medical nomenclature in honour of Dr Bright, must be understood as having a generic application.
The symptoms are usually of a severe character. Pain in the back, vomiting and febrile disturbance commonly usher in the attack. Dropsy, varying in degree from slight puffiness of the face to an accumulation of fluid sufficient to distend the whole body, and to occasion serious embarrassment to respiration, is a very common accompaniment. The urine is reduced in quantity, is of dark, smoky or bloody colour, and exhibits to chemical reaction the presence of a large amount of albumen, while, under the microscope, blood corpuscles and casts, as above mentioned, are found in abundance.
This state of acute inflammation may by its severity destroy life, or, short of this, may by continuance result in the establishment of one of the chronic forms of Bright's disease. On the other hand an arrest of the inflammatory action frequently occurs, and this is marked by the increased amount of the urine, and the gradual disappearance of its albumen and other abnormal constituents; as also by the subsidence of the dropsy and the rapid recovery of strength.
In the treatment of acute Bright's disease, good results are often obtained from local depletion, from warm baths and from the careful employment of diuretics and purgatives. Chronic Bright's disease is much less amenable to treatment, but by efforts to maintain the strength and improve the quality of the blood by strong nourishment, and at the same time by guarding against the risks of complications, life may often be prolonged in comparative comfort, and even a certain measure of improvement be experienced.
BRIGNOLES, a town in the department of Var in the S.E. of France, 36 m. by rail N. of Toulon. Pop. (1906) 3639. It is built at a height of 754 ft. above the sea-level, in a fertile valley, and on the right bank of the Carami river. It contains the old summer palace of the counts of Provence, and has an active trade, especially in prunes, known as prunes de Brignoles. Its old name was Villa Puerorum, as the children of the counts of Provence were often brought up here. It was sacked on several occasions during the religious wars in the 16th century. Twelve miles to the N.W. is St Maximin (with a fine medieval church), which is one of the best starting-points for the most famous pilgrimage resort in Provence, the Sainte Baume, wherein St Mary Magdalene is said to have taken refuge. This is 20 m. distant by road.
(W. A. B. C.)
BRIHASPATI, or Brahmanaspati ("god of strength"), a deity of importance in early Hindu mythology. In the Rigveda he is represented as the god of prayer, aiding Indra in his conquest of the cloud-demon, and at times appears to be identified with Agni, god of fire. He is the offspring of Heaven and Earth, the two worlds; is the inspirer of prayer and the guide and protector of the pious. He is pictured as having seven mouths, a hundred wings and horns and is armed with bow and arrows and an axe. He rides in a chariot drawn by red horses. In the later scriptures he is represented as a Rishi or seer.
See A.A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology (Strassburg, 1897).
BRIL, PAUL (1554-1626), Flemish painter, was born at Antwerp. The success of his elder brother Matthew (1550-1584) in the Vatican induced him to go to Rome to live. On the death of Matthew, Paul, who far surpassed him as an artist, succeeded to his pensions and employments. He painted landscapes with a depth of chiaroscuro then little practised in Italy, and introduced into them figures well drawn and finely coloured. One of his best compositions is the "Martyrdom of St Clement," in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican.
BRILL, the name given to a flat-fish (Psetta laevis, or Rhombus laevis) which is a species closely related to the turbot, differing from it in having very small scales, being smaller in size, having no bony tubercules in the skin, and being reddish in colour. It abounds on parts of the British coast, and is only less favoured for the table than the turbot itself.
BRILLAT-SAVARIN, ANTHELME (1755-1826), French gastronomist, was born at Belley, France, on the 1st of April 1755. In 1789 he was a deputy, in 1793 mayor of Belley. To escape proscription he fled from France to Switzerland, and went thence to the United States, where he played in the orchestra of a New York theatre. On the fall of Robespierre he returned to France, and in 1797 became a member of the court of cassation. He wrote various volumes on political economy and law, but his name is famous for his Physiologie du goût, a compendium of the art of dining. Many editions of this work have been published. Brillat-Savarin died in Paris on the 2nd of February 1826.
BRIMSTONE, the popular name of sulphur (q.v.), particularly of the commercial "roll sulphur." The word means literally "burning stone"; the first part being formed from the stem of the Mid. Eng. brennen, to burn. Earlier forms of the word are brenstone, bernstone, brynstone, &c.
BRIN, BENEDETTO (1833-1898), Italian naval administrator, was born at Turin on the 17th of May 1833, and until the age of forty worked with distinction as a naval engineer. In 1873 Admiral Saint-Bon, minister of marine, appointed him under-secretary of state. The two men completed each other; Saint-Bon conceived a type of ship, Brin made the plans and directed its construction. On the advent of the Left to power in 1876, Brin was appointed minister of marine by Depretis, a capacity in which he continued the programme of Saint-Bon, while enlarging and completing it in such way as to form the first organic scheme for the development of the Italian fleet. The huge warships "Italia" and "Dandolo" were his work, though he afterwards abandoned their type in favour of smaller and faster vessels of the "Varese" and the "Garibaldi" class. By his initiative Italian naval industry, almost non-existent in 1873, made rapid progress. During his eleven years' ministry (1876-1878 with Depretis, 1884-1891 with Depretis and Crispi, 1896-1898 with Rudini), he succeeded in creating large private shipyards, engine works and metallurgical works for the production of armour, steel plates and guns. In 1892 he entered the Giolitti cabinet as minister for foreign affairs, accompanying, in that capacity, the king and queen of Italy to Potsdam, but showed weakness towards France on the occasion of the massacre of Italian workmen at Aigues-Mortes. He died on the 24th of May 1898, while minister of marine in the Rudini cabinet. He, more than any other man, must be regarded as the practical creator of the Italian navy.
BRINDABAN, a town of British India, in the Muttra district of the United Provinces, on the right bank of the Jumna, 6 m. N. of Muttra. Pop. (1901) 22,717. Brindaban is one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in India, being associated with the cult of Krishna as a shepherd. It contains bathing-stairs, tanks and wells, and a great number of handsome temples, of which the finest is that of Govind Deva, a cruciform vaulted building of red sandstone, dating from 1590. The town was founded earlier in the same century.
BRINDISI (anc. Brundisium, q.v.), a seaport town and archiepiscopal see of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Lecce, 24 m. N.W. by rail from the town of Lecce, and 346 m. from Ancona. Pop.(1861) 8000; (1871) 13,755; (1901) 25,317. The chief importance of Brindisi is due to its position as a starting-point for the East. The inner harbour, admirably sheltered and 27 to 30 ft. in depth, allows ocean steamers to lie at the quays. Brindisi has, however, been abandoned by the large steamers of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which had called there since 1870, but since 1898 call at Marseilles instead; small express boats, carrying the mails, still leave every week, connecting with the larger steamers at Port Said; but the number of passengers leaving the port, which for the years 1893-1897 averaged 14,728, was only 7608 in 1905, and only 943 of these were carried by the P. & O. boats. The harbour railway station was not completed until 1905 (Consular
Report, No. 3672, 1906, pp. 13 sqq.). The port was cleared in 1905 by 1492 vessels of 1,486,269 tons. The imports represented a value of £629,892 and the exports a value of £663,201—an increase of £84,077 and £57,807 respectively on the figures of the previous year, while in 1899 the amounts, which were below the average, were only £298,400 and £253,000. The main imports are coal, flour, sulphur, timber and metals; and the main exports, wine and spirits, oil and dried fruits.
Frederick II. erected a castle, with huge round towers, to guard the inner harbour; it is now a convict prison. The cathedral, ruined by earthquakes, was restored in 1743-1749, but has some remains of its mosaic pavement (1178). The baptismal church of S. Giovanni al Sepolcro (11th century) is now a museum. The town was captured in 836 by the Saracens, and destroyed by them; but was rebuilt in the 11th century by Lupus the protospatharius, Byzantine governor. In 1071 it fell into the hands of the Normans, and frequently appears in the history of the Crusades. Early in the 14th century the inner port was blocked by Giovanni Orsini, prince of Taranto; the town was devastated by pestilence in 1348, and was plundered in 1352 and 1383; but even greater damage was done by the earthquake of 1456.
(T. As.)
BRINDLEY, JAMES (1716-1772), English engineer, was born at Thornsett, Derbyshire, in 1716. His parents were in very humble circumstances, and he received little or no education. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to a millwright near Macclesfield, and soon after completing his apprenticeship he set up in business for himself as a wheelwright at Leek, quickly becoming known for his ingenuity and skill in repairing all kinds of machinery. In 1752 he designed and set up an engine for draining some coal-pits at Clifton in Lancashire. Three years later he extended his reputation by completing the machinery for a silk-mill at Congleton. In 1759, when the duke of Bridgewater was anxious to improve the outlets for the coal on his estates, Brindley advised the construction of a canal from Worsley to Manchester. The difficulties in the way were great, but all were surmounted by his genius, and his crowning triumph was the construction of an aqueduct to carry the canal at an elevation of 39 ft. over the river Irwell at Barton. The great success of this canal encouraged similar projects, and Brindley was soon engaged in extending his first work to the Mersey, at Runcorn. He then designed and nearly completed what he called the Grand Trunk Canal, connecting the Trent and Humber with the Mersey. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire, the Oxford and the Chesterfield Canals were also planned by him, and altogether he laid out over 360 m. of canals. He died at Turnhurst, Staffordshire, on the 30th of September 1772. Brindley retained to the last a peculiar roughness of character and demeanour; but his innate power of thought more than compensated for his lack of training. It is told of him that when in any difficulty he used to retire to bed, and there remain thinking out his problem until the solution became clear to him. His mechanical ingenuity and fertility of resource were very remarkable, and he undoubtedly possessed the engineering faculty in a very high degree. He was an enthusiastic believer in canals, and his reported answer, when asked the use of navigable rivers, "To feed canals," is characteristic, if not altogether authentic.
BRINTON, DANIEL GARRISON (1837-1899), American archaeologist and ethnologist, was born at Thornbury, Pennsylvania, on the 13th of May 1837. He graduated at Yale in 1858, studied for two years in the Jefferson Medical College, and then for one year travelled in Europe and continued his studies at Paris and Heidelberg. From 1862 to 1865, during the Civil War in America, he was a surgeon in the Union army, acting for one year, 1864-1865, as surgeon in charge of the U.S. Army general hospital at Quincy, Illinois. After the war he practised medicine at Westchester, Pennsylvania, for several years; was the editor of a weekly periodical, the Medical and Surgical Reporter, in Philadelphia, from 1874 to 1887; became professor of ethnology and archaeology in the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1884, and was professor of American linguistics and archaeology in the university of Pennsylvania from 1886 until his death at Philadelphia on the 31st of July 1899. He was a member of numerous learned societies in the United States and in Europe, and was president at different times of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, of the American Folk-Lore Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During the period from 1859 (when he published his first book) to 1899, he wrote a score of books, several of them of great value, and a large number of pamphlets, brochures, addresses and magazine articles. His principal works are:—The Myths of the New World (1868), the first attempt to analyse and correlate, according to true scientific principles, the mythology of the American Indians; The Religious Sentiment: Its Sources and Aim: A Contribution to the Science and Philosophy of Religion (1876); American Hero Myths (1882); Essays of an Americanist (1890); Races and Peoples (1890); The American Race (1891); The Pursuit of Happiness (1893); and Religions of Primitive People (1897). In addition, he edited and published a Library of American Aboriginal Literature (8 vols. 1882-1890), a valuable contribution to the science of anthropology in America. Of the eight volumes, six were edited by Brinton himself, one by Horatio Hale and one by A.S. Gatschet.
BRINVILLIERS, MARIE MADELEINE MARGUERITE D'AUBRAY, Marquise de (c. 1630-1676), French poisoner, daughter of Dreux d'Aubray, civil lieutenant of Paris, was born in Paris about 1630. In 1651 she married the marquis de Brinvilliers, then serving in the regiment of Normandy. Contemporary evidence describes the marquise at this time as a pretty and much-courted little woman, with a fascinating air of childlike innocence. In 1659 her husband introduced her to his friend Godin de Sainte-Croix, a handsome young cavalry officer of extravagant tastes and bad reputation, whose mistress she became. Their relations soon created a public scandal, and as the marquis de Brinvilliers, who had left France to avoid his creditors, made no effort to terminate them, M. d'Aubray secured the arrest of Sainte-Croix on a lettre de cachet. For a year Sainte-Croix remained a prisoner in the Bastille, where he is popularly supposed to have acquired a knowledge of poisons from his fellow-prisoner, the Italian poisoner Exili. When he left the Bastille, he plotted with his willing mistress his revenge upon her father. She cheerfully undertook to experiment with the poisons which Sainte-Croix, possibly with the help of a chemist, Christopher Glaser, prepared, and found subjects ready to hand in the poor who sought her charity, and the sick whom she visited in the hospitals. Meanwhile Sainte-Croix, completely ruined financially, enlarged his original idea, and determined that not only M. Dreux d'Aubray but also the latter's two sons and other daughter should be poisoned, so that the marquise de Brinvilliers and himself might come into possession of the large family fortune. In February 1666, satisfied with the efficiency of Sainte-Croix's preparations and with the ease with which they could be administered without detection, the marquise poisoned her father, and in 1670, with the connivance of their valet La Chaussée, her two brothers. A post-mortem examination suggested the real cause of death, but no suspicion was directed to the murderers. Before any attempt could be made on the life of Mlle Théresè d'Aubray, Sainte-Croix suddenly died. As he left no heirs the police were called in, and discovered among his belongings documents seriously incriminating the marquise and La Chaussée. The latter was arrested, tortured into a complete confession, and broken alive on the wheel (1673), but the marquise escaped, taking refuge first probably in England, then in Germany, and finally in a convent at Liége, whence she was decoyed by a police emissary disguised as a priest. A full account of her life and crimes was found among her papers. Her attempt to commit suicide was frustrated, and she was taken to Paris, where she was beheaded and her body burned on the 16th of July 1676.
See G. Roullier, La Marquise de Brinvilliers (Paris, 1883); Toiseleur, Trois énigmes historiques (Paris, 1882).
BRIONIAN ISLANDS, a group of small islands, in the Adriatic Sea, off the west coast of Istria, from which they are separated by the narrow Canale di Fasana. They belong to Austria and
are twelve in number. Up to a recent period they were chiefly noted for their quarries, which have been worked for centuries and have supplied material not only for the palaces and bridges of Venice and the whole Adriatic coast, but latterly for Vienna and Berlin also. As they command the entrance to the naval harbour of Pola, a strong fortress, "Fort Tegetthoff," has been erected on the largest of them (Brioni), together with minor fortifications on some of the others. The islands are inhabited by about 100 Italian quarrymen.
BRIOSCO, ANDREA (c. 1470-1532), Italian sculptor and architect, known as Riccio ("curly-headed"), was born at Padua. In architecture he is known by the church of Sta Giustina in his native city, but he is most famous as a worker in metal. His masterpieces are the bronze Paschal candelabrum (11 ft. high) in the choir of the Santo (S. Antonio) at Padua (1515), and the two bronze reliefs (1507) of "David dancing before the Ark" and "Judith and Holofernes" in the same church. His bronze and marble tomb of the physician Girolamo della Torre in San Fermo at Verona was beautifully decorated with reliefs, which were taken away by the French and are now in the Louvre. A number of other works which emanated from his workshop are attributed to him; and he has been suggested, but doubtfully, as the author of a fine bronze relief, a "Dance of Nymphs," in the Wallace collection at Hertford House, London.
BRIOUDE, a town of central France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Haute-Loire, on the left bank of the Allier, 1467 ft. above the sea, 47 m. N.W. of Le Puy on the Paris-Lyon railway. Pop. (1906) 4581. Brioude has to a great extent escaped modernization and still has many old houses and fountains. Its streets are narrow and irregular, but the town is surrounded by wide boulevards lined with trees. The only building of consequence is the church of St Julian (12th and 13th centuries) in the Romanesque style of Auvergne, of which the choir, with its apse and radiating chapels and the mosaic ornamentation of the exterior, is a fine example. Brioude is the seat of a sub-prefect, and of tribunals of first instance and of commerce. The plain in which it is situated is of great fertility; the grain trade of the town is considerable, and market-gardening is carried on in the outskirts. The industries include brewing, saw-milling, lace-making and antimony mining and founding.
Brioude, the ancient Brinas, was formerly a place of considerable importance. It was in turn besieged and captured by the Goths (532), the Burgundians, the Saracens (732) and the Normans. In 1181 the viscount of Polignac, who had sacked the town two years previously, made public apology in front of the church, and established a body of twenty-five knights to defend the relics of St Julian. For some time after 1361 the town was the headquarters of Bérenger, lord of Castelnau, who was at the head of one of the bands of military adventurers which then devastated France. The knights (or canons, as they afterwards became) of St Julian bore the title of counts of Brioude, and for a long time opposed themselves to the civic liberties of the inhabitants.
BRIQUEMAULT (or Briquemaut), FRANÇOIS DE BEAUVAIS, Seigneur de (c. 1502-1572), leader of the Huguenots during the first religious wars, was the son of Adrien de Briquemault and Alexane de Sainte Ville, and was born about 1502. His first campaign was under the count of Brissac in the Piedmontese wars. On his return to France in 1554 he joined Admiral Coligny. Charged with the defence of Rouen, in 1562, he resigned in favour of Montgomery, to whom the prince of Condé had entrusted the task, and went over to England, where he concluded the treaty of Hampton Court on the 20th of September. He then returned to France, and took Dieppe from the Catholics before the conclusion of peace. If his share in the second religious war was less important, he played a very active part in the third. He fought at Jarnac, Roche-Abeille and Montcontour, assisted in the siege of Poitiers, was nearly captured by the Catholics at Bourg-Dieu, re-victualled Vézelay, and almost surprised Bourges. In 1570, being charged by Coligny to stop the army of the princes in its ascent of the Rhone valley, he crossed Burgundy and effected his junction with the admiral at St. Étienne in May. On the 21st of the following June he assisted in achieving the victory of Arnay-le-Duc, and was then employed to negotiate a marriage between the prince of Navarre and Elizabeth of England. Being in Paris on the night of St Bartholomew he took refuge in the house of the English ambassador, but was arrested there. With his friend Arnaud da Cavagnes he was delivered over to the parlement, and failed in courage when confronted with his judges, seeking to escape death by unworthy means. He was condemned, nevertheless, on the 27th of October 1572, to the last penalty and to the confiscation of his property, and on the 29th of October he and Cavagnes were executed.
See Histoire ecclésiastique des Églises réformées au royaume de France (new edition, 1884), vol. ii.; La France protestante (2nd edition), vol. ii., article "Beauvais."
BRIQUETTE (diminutive of Fr. brique, brick), a form of fuel, known also as "patent fuel," consisting of small coal compressed into solid blocks by the aid of some binding material. For making briquettes the small coal, if previously washed, is dried to reduce the moisture to at most 4%, and if necessary crushed in a disintegrator. It is then incorporated in a pug mill with from 8 to 10% of gas pitch, and softened by heating to between 70° and 90° C. to a plastic mass, which is moulded into blocks and compacted by a pressure of ½ to 2 tons per sq. in. in a machine with a rotating die-plate somewhat like that used in making semi-plastic clay bricks. When cold, the briquettes, which usually weigh from 7 to 20 lb each, although smaller sizes are made for domestic use, become quite hard, and can be handled with less breakage than the original coal. Their principal use is as fuel for marine and locomotive boilers, the evaporative value being about the same as, or somewhat greater than, that of coal. The principal seat of the manufacture in Great Britain is in South Wales, where the dust and smalls resulting from the handling of the best steam coals (which are very brittle) are obtainable in large quantities and find no other use. Some varieties of lignite, when crushed and pressed at a steam heat, soften sufficiently to furnish compact briquettes without requiring any cementing material. Briquettes of this kind are made to a large extent from the tertiary lignites in the vicinity of Cologne; they are used mainly for house fuel on the lower Rhine and in Holland, and occasionally come to London.
BRISBANE, SIR THOMAS MAKDOUGALL (1773-1860), Scottish soldier and astronomer, was born on the 23rd of July 1773 at Brisbane House, near Largs, in Ayrshire. He entered the army in 1789, and served in Flanders, the West Indies and the Peninsula. In 1814 he was sent to North America; on the return of Napoleon from Elba he was recalled, but did not arrive in time to take part in the battle of Waterloo. In 1821 he was appointed governor of New South Wales. During the four years for which he held that office, although he allowed the finances of the colony to get into confusion, he endeavoured to improve its condition by introducing the vine, sugar-cane and tobacco plant, and by encouraging the breeding of horses and the reclamation of land. At his instigation exploring parties were sent out, and one of these discovered the Brisbane river which was named after him. He established an astronomical observatory at Paramatta in 1822, and the Brisbane Catalogue, which was printed in 1835 and contained 7385 stars, was the result of observations made there in 1822-1826. The observatory was discontinued in 1855. After his return to Scotland he resided chiefly at Makerstoun in Roxburghshire, where, as at Brisbane House, he had a large and admirably equipped observatory. Important magnetic observations were begun at Makerstoun in 1841, and the results gained him in 1848 the Keith prize of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in whose Transactions they were published. In 1836 he was made a baronet, and G.C.B. in 1837; and in 1841 he became general. He was elected president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh after the death of Sir Walter Scott in 1833, and in the following year acted as president of the British Association. He died at Brisbane House on the 27th of January 1860. He founded two gold medals for the encouragement of scientific research, one in the
award of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the other in that of the Scottish Society of Arts.
BRISBANE, the capital of Queensland, Australia. It is situated in Stanley county, on the banks of the river Brisbane, 25 m. from its mouth in Moreton Bay. It is built on a series of hills rising from the river-banks, but some parts of it, such as Woollongabba and South Brisbane, occupy low-lying flats, which have sometimes been the scene of disastrous floods. The main streets and principal buildings of the city are situated on a tongue of land formed by a southward bend of the river. The extremity of the tongue, however, is open. Here, adjoining one another, are the botanical gardens, the grounds surrounding Government House, the official residence of the governor of the colony, and the Houses of Parliament, and Queen's Park, which is used as a recreation ground. From this park Albert Street runs for about three-quarters of a mile through the heart of the city, leading to Albert Park, in which is the observatory. Queen's Street, the main thoroughfare of Brisbane, crosses Albert Street midway between the two parks and leads across the Victoria Bridge to the separate city of South Brisbane on the other side of the river. The Victoria Bridge is a fine steel structure, which replaced the bridge swept away by floods in February 1893. Brisbane has a large number of buildings of architectural merit, though in some cases their effect is marred by the narrowness of the streets in which they stand. Among the most prominent are the Houses of Parliament, the great domed custom-house on the river-bank, the lands office, the general post-office, the town halls of Brisbane and South Brisbane, and the opera house. The Roman Catholic cathedral of St Stephen (Elizabeth Street) is an imposing building, having a detached campanile containing the largest bell in Australia. The foundation-stone of the Anglican cathedral, on an elevated site in Ann Street, was laid by the prince of Wales (as duke of York) in 1901. The city is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop and of an Anglican bishop. Many of the commercial and private buildings are also worthy of notice, especially the Queensland National Bank, a classic Italian structure, the massive treasury buildings, one of the largest erections in Australia, the Queensland Club with its wide colonnades in Italian Renaissance style, and the great buildings of the Brisbane Newspaper Company. Brisbane is well provided with parks and open spaces; the Victoria Park and Bowen Park are the largest; the high-lying Mount Coot-tha commands fine views, and there are other parks and numerous recreation grounds in various parts of the city, besides the admirable botanical gardens and the gardens of the Acclimatization Society. Electric tramways and omnibuses serve all parts of the city, and numerous ferries ply across the river. There is railway communication to north, south and west. By careful dredging, the broad river is navigable as far as Brisbane for ocean-going vessels, and the port is the terminal port for the Queensland mail steamers to Europe, and is visited by steamers to China, Japan and America, and for various inter-colonial lines. There is wharf accommodation on both banks of the river, a graving dock which can be used by vessels up to 5000 tons, and two patent slips which can take up ships of 1000 and 400 tons respectively. The exports are chiefly coal, sheep, tallow, wool, frozen meat and hides. The annual value of imports and exports exceeds seven and nine millions sterling respectively. There are boot factories, soap works, breweries, tanneries, tobacco works, &c. The climate is on the whole dry and healthy, but during summer the temperature is high, the mean shade temperature being about 70° F.
Brisbane was founded in 1825 as a penal settlement, taking its name from Sir Thomas Brisbane, then governor of Australia; in 1842 it became a free settlement and in 1859 capital of Queensland, the town up to that time having belonged to New South Wales. It was incorporated in the same year. South Brisbane became a separate city in 1903. The municipal government of the city, and also of South Brisbane, is in the hands of a mayor and ten alderman; the suburbs are controlled by shire councils and divisional boards. The chief suburbs are Kangaroo Point, Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Red Hill, Paddington, Milon, Toowong, Breakfast Creek, Bulimba, Woolongabba, Highgate and Indooroopilly. The population of the metropolitan area in 1901 was 119,907; of the city proper, 28,953; of South Brisbane, 25,481.
BRISEUX, CHARLES ÉTIENNE (c. 1680-1754), French architect. He was especially successful as a designer of internal decorations—mantelpieces, mirrors, doors and overdoors, ceilings, consoles, candelabra, wall panellings and other fittings, chiefly in the Louis Quinze mode. He was also an industrious writer on architectural subjects. His principal works are:—L'Architecture moderne (2 vols., 1728); L'Art de bâtir les maisons de campagne (2 vols., 1743); Traité du beau essentiel dans les arts, appliqué particulièrement à l'architecture (1752); and Traité des proportions harmoniques.
BRISSAC, DUKES OF. The fief of Brissac in Anjou was acquired at the end of the 15th century by a noble French family named Cossé belonging to the same province. René de Cossé married into the Gouffier family, just then very powerful at court, and became premier panelier (chief pantler) to Louis XII. Two of his sons were marshals of France. Brissac was made a countship in 1560 for Charles, the eldest, who was grandmaster of artillery, and governor of Piedmont and of Picardy. The second, Artus, who held the offices of grand panetier of France and superintendent of finance, distinguished himself in the religious wars. Charles II. de Cossé fought for the League, and as governor of Paris opened the gates of that town to Henry IV., who created him marshal of France in 1594. Brissac was raised to a duchy in the peerage of France in 1611. Louis Hercule Timoléon de Cossé, due de Brissac, and commandant of the constitutional guard of Louis XVI., was killed at Versailles on the 9th of September 1792 for his devotion to the king.
(M. P.*)
BRISSON, EUGÈNE HENRI (1835- ), French statesman, was born at Bourges on the 31st of July 1835. He followed his father's profession of advocate, and having made himself conspicuous in opposition during the last days of the empire, was appointed deputy-mayor of Paris after its overthrow. He was elected to the Assembly on the 8th of February 1871, as a member of the extreme Left. While not approving of the Commune, he was the first to propose amnesty for the condemned (on the 13th of September 1871), but the proposal was voted down. He strongly supported obligatory primary education, and was a firm anti-clerical. He was president of the chamber from 1881—replacing Gambetta—to March 1885, when he became prime minister upon the resignation of Jules Ferry; but he resigned when, after the general elections of that year, he only just obtained a majority for the vote of credit for the Tongking expedition. He remained conspicuous as a public man, took a prominent part in exposing the Panama scandals, was a powerful candidate for the presidency after the murder of President Carnot in 1894, and was again president of the chamber from December 1894 to 1898. In June of the latter year he formed a cabinet when the country was violently excited over the Dreyfus affair; his firmness and honesty increased the respect in which he was already held by good citizens, but a chance vote on an occasion of especial excitement overthrew his ministry in October. As one of the leaders of the radicals he actively supported the ministries of Waldeck-Rousseau and Combes, especially concerning the laws on the religious orders and the separation of church and state. In 1899 he was a candidate for the presidency. In May 1906 he was elected president of the chamber of deputies by 500 out of 581 votes.
BRISSON, MATHURIN JACQUES (1723-1806), French zoologist and natural philosopher, was born at Fontenay le Comte on the 30th of April 1723. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history, his published works in this department including Le Règne animal (1756) and Ornithologie (1760). After the death of R.A.F. Réaumur (1683-1757), whose assistant he was, he abandoned natural history, and was appointed professor of natural philosophy at Navarre and later at Paris. His most important work in this department was his Poids spécifiques des corps (1787), but he published several other books on physical subjects which were in considerable repute for a time. He died at Croissy near Paris, on the 23rd of June 1806.
BRISSOT, JACQUES PIERRE (1754-1793), who assumed the name of de Warville, a celebrated French Girondist, was born at Chartres, where his father was an inn-keeper, in January 1754. Brissot received a good education and entered the office of a lawyer at Paris. His first works, Théorie des lois criminelles (1781) and Bibliothèque philosophique du législateur (1782), were on the philosophy of law, and showed how thoroughly Brissot was imbued with the ethical precepts of Rousseau. The first work was dedicated to Voltaire, and was received by the old philosophe with much favour. Brissot became known as a facile and able writer, and was engaged on the Mercure, on the Courrier de l'Europe, and on other papers. Ardently devoted to the service of humanity, he projected a scheme for a general concourse of all the savants in Europe, and started in London a paper, Journal du Lycée de Londres, which was to be the organ of their views. The plan was unsuccessful, and soon after his return to Paris Brissot was lodged in the Bastille on the charge of having published a work against the government. He obtained his release after four months, and again devoted himself to pamphleteering, but had speedily to retire for a time to London. On this second visit he became acquainted with some of the leading Abolitionists, and founded later in Paris a Société des Amis des Noirs, of which he was president during 1790 and 1791. As an agent of this society he paid a visit to the United States in 1788, and in 1791 published his Nouveau Voyage dans les États-Unis de l'Amerique Septentrionale (3 vols.).
From the first, Brissot threw himself heart and soul into the Revolution. He edited the Patriote français from 1789 to 1793, and being a well-informed and capable man took a prominent part in affairs. Upon the demolition of the Bastille the keys were presented to him. Famous for his speeches at the Jacobin club, he was elected a member of the municipality of Paris, then of the Legislative Assembly, and later of the National Convention. During the Legislative Assembly his knowledge of foreign affairs enabled him as member of the diplomatic committee practically to direct the foreign policy of France, and the declaration of war against the emperor on the 20th of April 1792, and that against England on the 1st of July 1793, were largely due to him. It was also Brissot who gave these wars the character of revolutionary propaganda. He was in many ways the leading spirit of the Girondists, who were also known as Brissotins. Vergniaud certainly was far superior to him in oratory, but Brissot was quick, eager, impetuous, and a man of wide knowledge. But he was at the same time vacillating, and not qualified to struggle against the fierce energies roused by the events of the Revolution. His party fell before the Mountain; sentence of arrest was passed against the leading members of it on the 2nd of June 1793. Brissot attempted to escape in disguise, but was arrested at Moulins. His demeanour at the trial was quiet and dignified; and on the 31st of October 1793 he died bravely with several other Girondists.
See Mémoires de Brissot, sur ses contemporains et la Révolution française, published by his sons, with notes by F. de Montrol (Paris, 1830); Helena Williams, Souvenirs de la Révolution française (Paris, 1827); F. A. Aulard, Les Orateurs de la Législative et de la Convention 2nd ed., (Paris, 1905); F. A. Aulard, Les Portraits littéraires à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, pendant la Révolution (Paris, 1883).
BRISTOL, EARLS AND MARQUESSES OF. This English title has been held in the Hervey family since 1714, though previously an earldom of Bristol, in the Digby family, is associated with two especially famous representatives, of whom separate biographies are given. The Herveys are mentioned during the 13th century as seated in Bedfordshire, and afterwards in Suffolk, where they have held the estate of Ickworth since the 15th century. John Hervey (1616-1679) was the eldest son of Sir William Hervey (d. 1660), and was born on the 18th of August 1616. He held a high position in the household of Catherine, wife of Charles II., and was for many years member of parliament for Hythe. He married Elizabeth, the only surviving child of his kinsman, William, Lord Hervey of Kidbrooke (d. 1642), but left no children when he died on the 18th of January 1679, and his estates passed to his brother, Sir Thomas Hervey. Sir Thomas, who was member of parliament for Bury St Edmunds, died on the 27th of May 1694, and was succeeded by his son, John, who became the 1st earl of Bristol.
John Hervey, 1st earl of Bristol (1665-1751), born on the 27th of August 1665, was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and became member of parliament for Bury St Edmunds in March 1694. In March 1703 he was created Baron Hervey of Ickworth, and in October 1714 was made earl of Bristol as a reward for his zeal in promoting the principles of the revolution and supporting the Hanoverian succession. He died on the 20th of January 1751. By his first wife, Isabella (d. 1693), daughter of Sir Robert Carr, Bart., of Sleaford, he had one son, Carr, Lord Hervey (1691-1723), who was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and was member for Bury St Edmunds from 1713 to 1722. (It has been suggested that Carr, who died unmarried on the 14th of November 1723, was the father of Horace Walpole.) He married secondly Elizabeth (d. 1741), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Felton, Bart., of Playford, Suffolk, by whom he had ten sons and six daughters. His eldest son, John (1696-1743), took the courtesy title of Lord Hervey on the death of his half-brother, Carr, in 1723, and gained some renown both as a writer and a politician (see Hervey of Ickworth). Another son, Thomas (1699-1775), was one of the members for Bury from 1733 to 1747; held various offices at court; and eloped with Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Hanmer. He had very poor health, and his reckless life frequently brought him into pecuniary and other difficulties. He wrote numerous pamphlets, and when he died Dr Johnson said of him, "Tom Hervey, though a vicious man, was one of the genteelest men who ever lived." Another of the 1st earl's sons, Felton (1712-1773), was also member for the family borough of Bury St Edmunds. Having assumed the additional name of Bathurst, Felton's grandson, Felton Elwell Hervey-Bathurst (1782-1819), was created a baronet in 1818, and on his death a year later the title descended to his brother, Frederick Anne (1783-1824), the direct ancestor of the present baronet. The 1st earl died in January 1751, the title and estates descending to his grandson.
George William Hervey, 2nd earl of Bristol (1721-1775), the eldest son of John, Lord Hervey of Ickworth, by his marriage with Mary (1700-1768), daughter of Nicholas Lepell, was born on the 31st of August 1721. He served for some years in the army, and in 1755 was sent to Turin as envoy extraordinary. He was ambassador at Madrid from 1758 to 1761, filling a difficult position with credit and dignity, and ranked among the followers of Pitt. Appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1766, he never visited that country during his short tenure of this office, and, after having served for a short time as keeper of the privy seal, became groom of the stole to George III. in January 1770. He died unmarried on the 18th or 20th of March 1775, and was succeeded by his brother.
Augustus John Hervey, 3rd earl of Bristol (1724-1779), was born on the 19th of May 1724, and entered the navy, where his promotion was rapid. He distinguished himself in several encounters with the French, and was of great assistance to Admiral Hawke in 1759, although he had returned to England before the battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759. Having served with distinction in the West Indies under Rodney, his active life at sea ceased when the peace of Paris was concluded in February 1763. He was, however, nominally commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean in this year, and was made vice-admiral of the blue in January 1778. Hervey was member of parliament for Bury from 1757 to 1763, and after being for a short time member for Saltash, again represented Bury from 1768 until he succeeded his brother in the peerage in 1775. He often took part in debates in parliament, and was a frequent contributor to periodical literature. Having served as a lord of the admiralty from 1771 to 1775 he won some notoriety as an opponent of the Rockingham ministry and a defender of Admiral Keppel. In August 1744 he had been secretly married to Elizabeth Chudleigh (1720-1788), afterwards duchess of Kingston (q.v.), but this union was dissolved in 1769. The earl died in London on the 23rd of December 1779, leaving no legitimate issue, and having, as far as possible, alienated his property from the
title. He was succeeded by his brother. Many of his letters are in the Record Office, and his journals in the British Museum. Other letters are printed in the Grenville Papers, vols. iii. and iv. (London, 1852-1853), and the Life of Admiral Keppel, by the Hon. T. Keppel (London, 1852).
Frederick Augustus Hervey, bishop of Derry (1730-1803), who now became 4th earl of Bristol, was born on the 1st of August 1730, and educated at Westminster school and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, graduating in 1754. Entering the church he became a royal chaplain; and while waiting for other preferment spent some time in Italy, whither he was led by his great interest in art. In February 1767, while his brother, the 2nd earl, was lord-lieutenant of Ireland, he was made bishop of Cloyne, and having improved the property of the see he was translated to the rich bishopric of Derry a year later. Here again he was active and philanthropic. While not neglecting his luxurious personal tastes he spent large sums of money on making roads and assisting agriculture, and his munificence was shared by the city of Londonderry. He built splendid residences at Downhill and Ballyscullion, which he adorned with rare works of art. As a bishop, Hervey was industrious and vigilant; he favoured complete religious equality, and was opposed to the system of tithes. In December 1779 he became earl of Bristol, and in spite of his brother's will succeeded to a considerable property. Having again passed some time in Italy, he returned to Ireland and in 1782 threw himself ardently into the Irish volunteer movement, quickly attaining a prominent position among the volunteers, and in great state attending the convention held in Dublin in November 1783. Carried away by his position and his popularity he talked loudly of rebellion, and his violent language led the government to contemplate his arrest. Subsequently he took no part in politics, spending his later years mainly on the continent of Europe. In 1798 he was imprisoned by the French at Milan, remaining in custody for eighteen months. He died at Albano on the 8th of July 1803, and was buried in Ickworth church. Varying estimates have been found of his character, including favourable ones by John Wesley and Jeremy Bentham. He was undoubtedly clever and cultured, but licentious and eccentric. In later life he openly professed materialistic opinions; he fell in love with the countess Lichtenau, mistress of Frederick William II., king of Prussia; and by his bearing he gave fresh point to the saying that "God created men, women and Herveys." In 1752 he had married Elizabeth (d. 1800), daughter of Sir Jermyn Davers, Bart., by whom he had two sons and three daughters. His elder son, Augustus John, Lord Hervey (1757-1796), had predeceased his father, and he was succeeded in the title by his younger son.
Frederick William Hervey, 5th earl and 1st marquess of Bristol (1769-1859), was born on the 2nd of October 1769. He married Elizabeth Albana (d. 1844), daughter of Clotworthy, 1st Baron Templetown, by whom he had six sons and three daughters. In 1826 he was created marquess of Bristol and Earl Jermyn, and died on the 15th of February 1859. He was succeeded by his son Frederick William (1800-1864), M.P. for Bury St Edmunds 1830-1859, as 2nd marquess; and by the latter's son Frederick William John (1834-1907), M.P. for West Suffolk 1859-1864, as 3rd marquess. The latter's nephew, Frederick William Fane Hervey (b. 1863), who succeeded as 4th marquess, served with distinction in the royal navy, and was M.P. for Bury St Edmunds from 1906 to 1907.
See John, Lord Hervey, Memoirs of the Reign of George II., edited by J.W. Croker (London, 1884); John Hervey, 1st earl of Bristol, Diary (Wells, 1894); and Letter Books of Bristol; with Sir T. Hervey's Letters during Courtship and Poems during Widowhood (Wells, 1894). Also the articles in the Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xxvi. (London, 1891).
BRISTOL, GEORGE DIGBY, 2nd Earl of[[1]] (1612-1677), eldest son of the 1st earl (see below), was born in October 1612. At the age of twelve he appeared at the bar of the House of Commons and pleaded for his father, then in the Tower, when his youth, graceful person and well-delivered speech made a great impression. He was admitted to Magdalen College, Oxford, on the 15th of August 1626, where he was a favourite pupil of Peter Heylin, and became M.A. in 1636. He spent the following years in study and in travel, from which he returned, according to Clarendon, "the most accomplished person of our nation or perhaps any other nation," and distinguished by a remarkably handsome person. In 1638 and 1639 were written the Letters between Lord George Digby and Sir Kenelm Digby, Knt. concerning Religion (publ. 1651), in which Digby attacked Roman Catholicism. In June 1634 Digby was committed to the Fleet till July for striking Crofts, a gentleman of the court, in Spring Gardens; and possibly his severe treatment and the disfavour shown to his father were the causes of his hostility to the court. He was elected member for Dorsetshire in both the Short and Long parliaments in 1640, and in conjunction with Pym and Hampden he took an active part in the opposition to Charles. He moved on the 9th of November for a committee to consider the "deplorable state" of the kingdom, and on the 11th was included in the committee for the impeachment of Strafford, against whom he at first showed great zeal. He, however, opposed the attainder, made an eloquent speech on the 21st of April 1641, accentuating the weakness of Vane's evidence against the prisoner, and showing the injustice of ex post facto legislation. He was regarded in consequence with great hostility by the parliamentary party, and was accused of having stolen from Pym's table Vane's notes on which the prosecution mainly depended. On the 15th of July his speech was burnt by the hangman by the order of the House of Commons. Meanwhile on the 8th of February he had made an important speech in the Commons advocating the reformation and opposing the abolition of episcopacy. On the 8th of June, during the angry discussion on the army plot, he narrowly escaped assault in the House; and the following day, in order to save him from further attacks, the king called him up to the Lords in his father's barony of Digby.
He now became the evil genius of Charles, who had the incredible folly to follow his advice in preference to such men as Hyde and Falkland. In November he is recorded as performing "singular good service," and "doing beyond admiration," in speaking in the Lords against the instruction concerning evil counsellors. He suggested to Charles the impeachment of the five members, and urged upon him the fatal attempt to arrest them on the 4th of January 1642; but he failed to play his part in the Lords in securing the arrest of Lord Mandeville, to whom on the contrary he declared that "the king was very mischievously advised"; and according to Clarendon his imprudence was responsible for the betrayal of the king's plan. Next day he advised the attempt to seize them in the city by force. The same month he was ordered to appear in the Lords to answer a charge of high treason for a supposed armed attempt at Kingston, but fled to Holland, where he joined the queen, and on the 26th of February was impeached. Subsequently he visited Charles at York disguised as a Frenchman, but on the return voyage to Holland he was captured and taken to Hull, where he for some time escaped detection; and at last he cajoled Sir John Hotham, after discovering himself, into permitting his escape. Later he ventured on a second visit to Hull to persuade Hotham to surrender the place to Charles, but this project failed. He was present at Edgehill, and greatly distinguished himself at Lichfield, where he was wounded while leading the assault. He soon, however, threw down his commission in consequence of a quarrel with Prince Rupert, and returned to the king at Oxford, over whom he obtained more influence as the prospect became more gloomy. On the 28th of September 1643 he was appointed secretary of state and a privy councillor, and on the 31st of October high steward of Oxford University. He now supported the queen's disastrous policy of foreign alliances and help from Ireland, and engaged in a series of imprudent and ill-conducted negotiations which greatly injured the king's affairs, while his fierce disputes with Rupert and his party further embarrassed them. On the 14th of October 1645 he was made lieutenant general of the royal forces north of the Trent, with the object of pushing through to join Montrose, but he was defeated on
the 15th at Sherburn, where his correspondence was captured, disclosing the king's expectations from abroad and from Ireland and his intrigues with the Scots; and after reaching Dumfries, he found his way barred. He escaped on the 24th to the Isle of Man, thence crossing to Ireland, where he caused Glamorgan to be arrested. Here, on this new stage, he believed he was going to achieve wonders. "Have I not carried my body swimmingly," he wrote to Hyde in irrepressible good spirits, "who being before so irreconcilably hated by the Puritan party, have thus seasonably made myself as odious to the Papists?"[[2]] His project now was to bring over Prince Charles to head a royalist movement in the island; and having joined Charles at Jersey in April 1646, he intended to entrap him on board, but was dissuaded by Hyde. He then travelled to Paris to gain the queen's consent to his scheme, but returned to persuade Charles to go to Paris, and accompanied him thither, revisiting Ireland on the 29th of June once more, and finally escaping to France on the surrender of the island to the parliament. At Paris amongst the royalists he found himself in a nest of enemies eager to pay off old scores. Prince Rupert challenged him, and he fought a duel with Lord Wilmot. He continued his adventures by serving in Louis XIV.'s troops in the war of the Fronde, in which he greatly distinguished himself. He was appointed in 1651 lieutenant-general in the French army, and commander of the forces in Flanders. These new honours, however, were soon lost. During Mazarin's enforced absence from the court Digby aspired to become his successor; and the cardinal, who had from the first penetrated his character and regarded him as a mere adventurer,[[3]] on his restoration to power sent Digby away on an expedition in Italy; and on his return informed him that he was included in the list of those expelled from France, in accordance with the new treaty with Cromwell. In August 1656 he joined Charles II. at Bruges, and desirous of avenging himself upon the cardinal offered his services to Don John of Austria in the Netherlands, being instrumental in effecting the surrender of the garrison of St Ghislain to Spain in 1657. On the 1st of January 1657 he was appointed by Charles II. secretary of state, but shortly afterwards, having become a Roman Catholic—probably with the view of adapting himself better to his new Spanish friends—he was compelled to resign office. Charles, however, on account of his "jollity" and Spanish experience took him with him to Spain in 1659, though his presence was especially deprecated by the Spanish; but he succeeded in ingratiating himself, and was welcomed by the king of Spain subsequently at Madrid.
By the death of his father Digby had succeeded in January 1659 to the peerage as 2nd earl of Bristol, and had been made K.G. the same month. He returned to England at the restoration, when he found himself excluded from office on account of his religion, and relegated to only secondary importance. His desire to make a brilliant figure induced a restless and ambitious activity in parliament. He adopted an attitude of violent hostility to Clarendon. In foreign affairs he inclined strongly to the side of Spain, and opposed the king's marriage with Catherine of Portugal. He persuaded Charles to despatch him to Italy to view the Medici princesses, but the royal marriage and treaty with Portugal were settled in his absence. In June 1663 he made an attempt to upset Clarendon's management of the House of Commons, but his intrigue was exposed to the parliament by Charles, and Bristol was obliged to attend the House to exonerate himself, when he confessed that he had "taken the liberty of enlarging," and his "comedian-like speech" excited general amusement. Exasperated by these failures, in a violent scene with the king early in July, he broke out into fierce and disrespectful reproaches, ending with a threat that unless Charles granted his requests within twenty-four hours "he would do somewhat that should awaken him out of his slumbers, and make him look better to his own business." Accordingly on the 10th he impeached Clarendon in the Lords of high treason, and on the charge being dismissed renewed his accusation, and was expelled from the court, only avoiding the warrant issued for his apprehension by a concealment of two years. In January 1664 he caused a new sensation by his appearance at his house at Wimbledon, where he publicly renounced before witnesses his Roman Catholicism, and declared himself a Protestant, his motive being probably to secure immunity from the charge of recusancy preferred against him.[[4]] When, however, the fall of Clarendon was desired, Bristol was again welcomed at court. He took his seat in the Lords on the 29th of July 1667. "The king," wrote Pepys in November, "who not long ago did say of Bristoll that he was a man able in three years to get himself a fortune in any kingdom in the world and lose all again in three months, do now hug him and commend his parts everywhere above all the world."[[5]] He pressed eagerly for Clarendon's commital, and on the refusal of the Lords accused them of mutiny and rebellion, and entered his dissent with "great fury."[[6]] In March 1668 he attended prayers in the Lords. On the 15th of March 1673 though still ostensibly a Roman Catholic, he spoke in favour of the Test Act, describing himself as "a Catholic of the church of Rome, not a Catholic of the court of Rome," and asserting the unfitness of Romanists for public office. His adventurous and erratic career closed by death on the 20th of March 1677.
Bristol was one of the most striking and conspicuous figures of his time, a man of brilliant abilities, a great orator, one who distinguished himself without effort in any sphere of activity he chose to enter, but whose natural gifts were marred by a restless ambition and instability of character fatal to real greatness. Clarendon describes him as "the only man I ever knew of such incomparable parts that was none the wiser for any experience or misfortune that befell him," and records his extraordinary facility in making friends and making enemies. Horace Walpole characterized him in a series of his smartest antitheses as "a singular person whose life was one contradiction." "He wrote against popery and embraced it; he was a zealous opposer of the court and a sacrifice for it; was conscientiously converted in the midst of his prosecution of Lord Strafford and was most unconscientiously a persecutor of Lord Clarendon. With great parts, he always hurt himself and his friends; with romantic bravery, he was always an unsuccessful commander. He spoke for the Test Act, though a Roman Catholic; and addicted himself to astrology on the birthday of true philosophy." Besides his youthful correspondence with Sir K. Digby on the subject of religion already mentioned, he was the author of an Apologie (1643, Thomason Tracts, E. 34 (32)), justifying his support of the king's cause; of Elvira ... a comedy (1667), printed in R. Dodsley's Select Collect. of Old English Plays (Hazlitt, 1876), vol. xv., and of Worse and Worse, an adaptation from the Spanish, acted but not printed. Other writings are also ascribed to him, including the authorship with Sir Samuel Tuke of The Adventures of Five Hours (1663). His eloquent and pointed speeches, many of which were printed, are included in the article in the Biog. Brit. and among the Thomason Tracts; see also the general catalogue in the British Museum. The catalogue of his library was published in 1680. He married Lady Anne Russell, daughter of Francis, 4th earl of Bedford, by whom, besides two daughters, he had two sons, Francis, who predeceased him unmarried, and John, who succeeded him as 3rd earl of Bristol, at whose death without issue the peerage became extinct.
Authorities.—See the article in Dict. Nat. Biog.; Wood's Ath. Oxon. (Bliss), iii. 1100-1105; Biographia Brit. (Kippis), v. 210-238; H. Walpole's Royal and Noble Authors (Park, 1806), iii. 191; Roscius Anglicanus, by J. Downes, pp. 31, 36 (1789); Cunningham's Lives of Eminent Englishmen (1837), iii. 29; Somers Tracts (1750), iii. (1809), iv.; Harleian Miscellany (1808), v., vi.; Life by T. H. Lister (1838); State Papers.
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[1] I.e. in the Digby line; for the Herveys see above.
[2] Clarendon State Papers, ii. 201.
[3] Mémoires du Cardinal de Retz (1859), app. iii. 437, 442.
[4] Pepys's Diary, iv. 51.
[5] Ib. vii. 199.
[6] Ib. 207; Protests of the Lords, by J.E.T. Rogers, i. 36.
BRISTOL, JOHN DIGBY, 1st Earl of[[1]] (1580-1653) English diplomatist, son of Sir George Digby of Coleshill, Warwickshire, and of Abigail, daughter of Sir Arthur Henningham, was born in
1580, and entered Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1595 (M.A. 1605), becoming a member of the Inner Temple in 1598. In 1605 he was sent to James to inform him of the safety of the princess Elizabeth at the time of the Gunpowder Plot. He gained his favour, was made a gentleman of the privy chamber and one of the king's carvers, and was knighted in 1607. From 1610 to 1611 he was member of parliament for Heydon. In 1611 he was sent as ambassador to Spain to negotiate a marriage between Prince Henry and the infanta Anne, and to champion the cause of the English merchants, for whom he obtained substantial concessions, and arranged the appointment of consuls at Lisbon and Seville. He also discovered a list of the English pensioners of the Spanish court, which included some of the ministers, and came home in 1613 to communicate this important intelligence to the king. In 1614 he again went to Spain to effect a union between the infanta Maria and Charles, though he himself was in favour of a Protestant marriage, and desired a political and not a matrimonial treaty. In 1616, on the disgrace of Somerset, he was recalled home to give evidence concerning the latter's connexions with Spain, was made vice-chamberlain and a privy councillor, and obtained from James the manor of Sherborne forfeited by the late favourite. In 1618 he went once more to Spain to reopen the negotiations, returning in May, and being created Baron Digby on the 25th of November. He endeavoured to avoid a breach with Spain on the election of the elector palatine, the king's son-in-law, to the Bohemian throne; and in March 1621, after the latter's expulsion from Bohemia, Digby was sent to Brussels to obtain a suspension of hostilities in the Palatinate. On the 4th of July he went to Vienna and drew up a scheme of pacification with the emperor, by which Frederick was to abandon Bohemia and be secured in his hereditary territories, but the agreement could never be enforced. After raising money for the defence of Heidelberg he returned home in October, and on the 21st of November explained his policy to the parliament, and asked for money and forces for its execution. The sudden dissolution of parliament, however, prevented the adoption of any measure of support, and entirely ruined Digby's plans. In 1622 he returned to Spain with nothing on which to rely but the goodwill of Philip IV., and nothing to offer but entreaties.
On the 15th of September he was created earl of Bristol. He urged on the marriage treaty, believing it would include favourable conditions for Frederick, but the negotiations were taken out of his control, and finally wrecked by the arrival of Charles himself and Buckingham in March 1623. He incurred their resentment, of which the real inspiration was Buckingham's implacable jealousy, by a letter written to James informing him of Buckingham's unpopularity among the Spanish ministers, and by his endeavouring to maintain the peace with Spain after their departure. In January 1624 he left Spain, and on arriving at Dover in March, Buckingham and Charles having now complete ascendancy over the king, he was forbidden to appear at court and ordered to confine himself at Sherborne. He was required by Buckingham to answer a series of interrogatories, but he refused to inculpate himself and demanded a trial by parliament. On the death of James he was removed by Charles I. from the privy council, and ordered to absent himself from his first parliament. On his demand in January 1626 to be present at the coronation Charles angrily refused, and accused him of having tried to pervert his religion in Spain. In March 1626, after the assembling of the second parliament, Digby applied to the Lords, who supported his rights, and Charles sent him his writ accompanied by a letter from Lord Keeper Coventry desiring him not to use it. Bristol, however, took his seat and demanded justice against Buckingham (Thomason Tracts, E. 126 (20)). The king endeavoured to obstruct his attack by causing Bristol on the 1st of May to be himself brought to the bar, on an accusation of high treason by the attorney-general. The Lords, however, ordered that both charges should be investigated simultaneously. Further proceedings were stopped by the dissolution of parliament on the 15th of June; a prosecution was ordered by Charles in the Star Chamber, and Bristol was sent to the Tower, where he remained till the 17th of March 1628, when the peers, on the assembling of Charles's third parliament, insisted on his liberation and restoration to his seat in the Lords.
In the discussions upon the Petition of Right, Bristol supported the use of the king's prerogative in emergencies, and asserted that the king besides his legal had a regal power, but joined in the demand for a full acceptance of the petition by the king after the first unsatisfactory answer. He was now restored to favour, but took no part in politics till the outbreak of the Scottish rebellion, when he warned Charles of the danger of attacking with inadequate forces. He was the leader in the Great Council held at York, was a commissioner to treat with the Scots in September 1640 at Ripon, and advised strongly the summoning of the parliament. In February 1641 he was one of the peers who advocated reforms in the administration and were given seats in the council. Though no friend to Strafford, he endeavoured to save his life, desiring only to see him excluded from office, and as a witness was excused from voting on the attainder. He was appointed gentleman of the bedchamber on the king's departure for Scotland, and on the 27th of December he was declared an evil counsellor by the House of Commons, Cromwell on the 28th moving an address to the king to dismiss him from his councils, on the plea that he had advocated the bringing up of the northern army to overawe parliament in the preceding spring. There is no evidence to support the charge, but Digby was regarded by the parliamentary party with special hatred and distrust, of which the chief causes were probably his Spanish proclivities and his indifference on the great matter of religion, to which was added the unpopularity reflected from his misguided son. On the 28th of March 1642 he was sent to the Tower for having failed to disclose to parliament the Kentish petition. Liberated in April, he spoke in the Lords on the 20th of May in favour of an accommodation, and again in June in vindication of the king; but finding his efforts ineffectual, and believing all armed rebellion against the king a wicked violation of the most solemn oaths, he joined Charles at York, was present at Edgehill and accompanied him to Oxford. On the 1st of February 1643 he was named with Lord Herbert of Raglan for removal from the court and public office for ever, and in the propositions of November 1644 was one of those excepted from pardon. In January he had endeavoured to instigate a breach of the Independents with the Scots. Bristol, however, was not in favour of continuing the war, and withdrew to Sherborne, removing in the spring of 1644 to Exeter, and after the surrender of the city retiring abroad on the 11th of July by order of the Houses, which rejected his petition to compound for his estate. He took up his residence at Caen, passing the rest of his life in exile and poverty, and occasionally attending the young king. In 1647 he printed at Caen An Apology, defending his support of the royal cause. This was reprinted in 1656 (Thomason Tracts, E. 897, 6). He died at Paris on the 16th of January 1653.
He is described by Clarendon as "a man of grave aspect, of a presence that drew respect, and of great parts and ability, but passionate and supercilious and too voluminous a discourser in council." His aim was to effect a political union between England and Spain apart from the religious or marriage questions—a policy which would probably have benefited both English and European interests; but it was one understood neither in Spain nor in England, and proved impracticable. He was a man of high character, who refused to compound with falsehood and injustice, whose misfortune it was to serve two Stuart sovereigns, and whose firm resistance to the king's tyranny led the way to the great movement which finally destroyed it. Besides his Apology, he was the author of several printed speeches and poems, and translated A Defence of the Catholic Faith by Peter du Moulin (1610). He married Beatrix, daughter of Charles Walcot, and widow of Sir John Dyve, and besides two daughters left two sons, George, who succeeded him as 2nd earl of Bristol, and John, who died unmarried.
Bibliography.—The best account of Bristol will be found in the scattered notices of him in the Hist. of England and of the Civil War, by S. R. Gardiner, who also wrote the short sketch of his career in
the Dict. of Nat. Biog., and who highly eulogizes his character and diplomacy. For lives, see Biographia Britannica (Kippis), v. 199; Wood's Ath. Oxon. (Bliss), iii. 338; D. Lloyd's Memoires (1668), 579; Collins's Peerage (Brydges, 1812), v. 362; Fuller's Worthies (Nichols, 1811), ii. 412; H. Walpole's Royal and Noble Authors (Park, 1806), iii. 49; also Clarendon's Hist of the Rebellion, esp. vi. 388; Clarendon State Papers and Cal. of Cl. State Papers; Old Parliamentary History; Cabala (1691; letters); Camden Soc., Miscellany, vol. vi. (1871); Defence of his Spanish Negotiations, ed. by S.R. Gardiner; Somers Tracts (1809), ii. 501; Thomason Tracts in Brit. Museum; Hardwicke State Papers, i. 494. The MSS. at Sherborne Castle, of which a selection was transcribed and deposited in the Public Record Office, were calendared by the Hist. MSS. Commission in Rep. viii. app. i. p. 213 and 10th Rep. app. i. p. 520; there are numerous references to Bristol in various collections calendared in the same publication and in the Cal. of State Papers, Dom. Series; see also Harleian MSS., Brit. Mus. 1580, art. 31-48, and Add. MSS. indexes and calendars.
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[1] I.e. in the Digby line; for the Herveys see above.
BRISTOL, a township of Hartford county, Connecticut, U.S.A., in the central part of the state, about 16 m. S.W. of Hartford. It has an area of 27 sq. m., and contains the village of Forestville and the borough of Bristol (incorporated in 1893). Both are situated on the Pequabuck river, and are served by the western branch of the midland division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway, and by electric railway to Hartford, New Britain and Terryville. Pop. (1890) 7382; (1900) 9643, including that of the borough, 6268 (1910) 13,502 (borough, 9527). Among the manufactures of the borough of Bristol are clocks, woollen goods, iron castings, hardware, brass ware, silverplate and bells. Bristol clocks, first manufactured soon after the War of Independence, have long been widely known. Bristol, originally a part of the township of Farmington, was first settled about 1727, but did not become an independent corporation until the formation, in 1742, of the first church, known after 1744 as the New Cambridge Society. In 1748 a Protestant Episcopal Church was organized, and before and during the War of Independence its members belonged to the Loyalist party; their rector, Rev. James Nichols, was tarred and feathered by the Whigs, and Moses Dunbar, a member of the church, was hanged for treason by the Connecticut authorities. Chippen's Hill (about 3 m. from the centre of the township) was a favourite rendezvous of the local Loyalists; and a cave there, known as "The Tories' Den," is a well-known landmark. In 1785 New Cambridge and West Britain, another ecclesiastical society of Farmington, were incorporated as the township of Bristol, but in 1806 they were divided into the present townships of Bristol and Burlington.
BRISTOL, a city, county of a city, municipal, county and parliamentary borough, and seaport of England, chiefly in Gloucestershire but partly in Somersetshire, 118½ m. W. of London. Pop. (1901) 328,945. The Avon, here forming the boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset, though entering the estuary of the Severn (Bristol Channel) only 8 m. below the city, is here confined between considerable hills, with a narrow valley-floor on which the nucleus of the city rests. Between Bristol and the Channel the valley becomes a gorge, crossed at a single stride by the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge. Above Bristol the hills again close in at Keynsham, so that the city lies in a basin-like hollow some 4 m. in diameter, and extends up the heights to the north. The Great Western railway, striking into the Avon valley near Bath, serves Bristol from London, connects it with South Wales by the Severn tunnel, and with the southern and south-western counties of England. Local lines of this company encircle the city on the north and the south, serving the outports of Avonmouth and Portishead on the Bristol Channel. A trunk line of the Midland railway connects Bristol with the north of England by way of Gloucester, Worcester, Birmingham and Derby. Both companies use the central station, Temple Meads.
The nucleus of Bristol lies to the north of the river. The business centre is in the district traversed by Broad Street, High Street, Wine Street and Corn Street, which radiate from a centre close to the Floating Harbour. To the south of this centre, connected with it by Bristol Bridge, an island is formed between the Floating Harbour and the New Course of the Avon, and here are Temple Meads station, above Victoria Street, two of the finest churches (the Temple and St Mary Redcliffe) the general hospital and other public buildings. Immediately above the bridge the little river Frome joins the Avon. Owing to the nature of the site the streets are irregular; in the inner part of the city they are generally narrow, and sometimes, with their ancient gabled houses, extremely picturesque. The principal suburbs surround the city to the west, north and east.
Churches, &c.—In the centre of Bristol a remarkable collection of architectural antiquities is found, principally ecclesiastical. This the city owes mainly to a few great baronial families, such as the earls of Gloucester and the Berkeleys, in its early history, and to a few great merchants, the Canyngs, Shipwards and Framptons, in its later career. The see of Bristol, founded by Henry VIII. in 1542, was united to that of Gloucester in 1836; but again separated in 1896. The diocese includes parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, and a small but populous Cathedral. portion of Somerset. The cathedral, standing above the so-called Canons' Marsh which borders the Floating Harbour, is pleasantly situated on the south side of College Green. It has two western towers and a central tower, nave, short transepts, choir with aisles, an eastern Lady chapel and other chapels; and on the south, a chapter-house and cloister court. The nave is modern (by Street, 1877), imitating the choir of the 14th century, with its curious skeleton-vaulting in the aisles. Besides the canopied tombs of the Berkeleys with their effigies in chain mail, and similarly fine tombs of the crosiered abbots, there are memorials to Bishop Butler, to Sterne's Eliza (Elizabeth Draper), and to Lady Hesketh (the friend of Cowper), who are all interred here. There is also here William Mason's fine epitaph to his wife (d. 1767), beginning "Take, holy earth, all that my soul holds dear." Of Fitz-Harding's abbey of St Augustine, founded in 1142 (of which the present cathedral was the church), the stately entrance gateway, with its sculptured mouldings, remains hardly injured. The abbot's gateway, the vestibule to the chapter-house, and the chapter-house itself, which is carved with Byzantine exuberance of decoration, and acknowledged to be one of the finest Norman chambers in Europe, are also perfect. On the north side of College Green is the small but ornate Mayor's chapel (originally St Mark's), devoted to the services of the mayor and corporation. It is mainly Decorated and Perpendicular. Of the churches within the centre of the city, the following are found within a radius of half-a-mile from Bristol Bridge. St Stephen's church, built between 1450 and 1490, is a dignified structure, chiefly interesting for its fan-traceried porch and stately tower. It was built entirely by the munificence of John Shipward, a wealthy merchant. The tower and spire of St John's (15th century) stand on one of the gateways of the city. This church is a parallelogram, without east or west windows or aisles, and is built upon a fine groined crypt. St James's church, the burial place of its founder, Robert, earl of Gloucester, dates from 1130, and fine Norman work remains in the nave. The tower is of the 14th century. St Philip's has an Early English tower, but its external walls and windows are for the most part debased Perpendicular. Robert FitzHamon's Norman tower of St Peter, the oldest church tower in Bristol, still presents its massive square to the eye. This church stands in Castle Street, which commemorates the castle of Robert, earl of Gloucester, the walls of which were 25 ft. thick at the base. Nothing remains of this foundation, but there still exist some walls and vaults of the later stronghold, including a fine Early English cell. Adjacent to the church is St Peter's hospital, a picturesque gabled building of Jacobean and earlier date, with a fine court room. St Mary le Port and St Augustine the Less are churches of the Perpendicular era, and not the richest specimens of their kind. St Nicholas church is modern, on a crypt of the date 1503, and earlier. On the island south of the Floating Harbour are two of the most interesting churches in the city. Temple church, with its leaning tower, 5 ft. off the perpendicular, retains nothing of the Templars' period, but is a fine building of the Decorated and Perpendicular periods. The church of
St Mary Redcliffe, for grandeur of proportion and elaboration of design and finish, is the first ecclesiastical building in Bristol, and takes high rank among the parish churches of England. It was built for the most part in the latter part of the 14th century by William Canyng or Canynges (q.v.), but the sculptured north porch is externally Decorated, and internally Early English. The fine tower is also Decorated, on an Early English base. The spire, Decorated in style, is modern. Among numerous monuments is that of Admiral Penn (d. 1718), the father of the founder of Pennsylvania. The church exhibits the rare feature of transeptal aisles. Of St Thomas's, in the vicinity, only the tower (15th century) remains of the old structures. All Hallows church has a modern Italian campanile, but is in the main of the 15th century, with the retention of four Norman piers in the nave; and is interesting from its connexion with the ancient gild of calendars, whose office it was "to convert Jews, instruct youths," and keep the archives of the town. Theirs was the first free library in the city, possibly in England. The records of the church contain a singularly picturesque representation of the ancient customs of the fraternity.
Among conventual remains, besides those already mentioned, there exist of the Dominican priory the Early English refectory and dormitory, the latter comprising a row of fifteen original windows and an oak roof of the same date; and of St Bartholomew's hospital there is a double arch, with intervening arcades, also Early English. These, with the small chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne, Holy Trinity Hospital, both Perpendicular, and the remains of the house of the Augustinian canons attached to the cathedral, comprise the whole of the monastic relics.
There are many good specimens of ancient domestic architecture—notably some arches of a grand Norman hall and some Tudor windows of Colston's house, Small Street; and Canyng's house, with good Perpendicular oak roof. Of buildings to which historic interest attaches, there are the Merchant Venturers' almshouses (1699), adjoining their hall. This gild was established in the 16th century. A small house near St Mary Redcliffe was the school where the poet Chatterton received his education. His memorial is in the churchyard of St Mary, and in the church a chest contains the records among which he claimed to have discovered some of the manuscripts which were in reality his own. A house in Wine Street was the birthplace of the poet-laureate Robert Southey (1744).
Public Buildings, &c.—The public buildings are somewhat overshadowed in interest by the ecclesiastical. The council house, at the "Cross" of the four main thoroughfares, dates from 1827, was enlarged in 1894, and contains the city archives and many portraits, including a Van Dyck and a Kneller. The Guildhall is close by—a modern Gothic building. The exchange (used as a corn-market) is a noteworthy building by the famous architect of Bath, John Wood (1743). Edward Colston, a revered citizen and benefactor of the city (d. 1721), is commemorated by name in several buildings and institutions, notably in Colston Hall, which is used for concerts and meetings. A bank close by St Stephen's church claims to have originated in the first savings-bank established in England (1812). Similarly, the city free library (1613) is considered to be the original of its kind. The Bristol museum and reference library were transferred to the corporation in 1893. Vincent Stuckey Lean (d. 1899) bequeathed to the corporation of Bristol the sum of £50,000 for the further development of the free libraries of the city, and with especial regard to the formation and sustenance of a general reference library of a standard and scientific character. The central library was opened in 1906. An art gallery, presented by Sir William Henry Wills, was opened in 1905.
Among educational establishments, the technical college of the Company of Merchant Venturers (1885) supplies scientific, technical and commercial education. The extensive buildings of this institution were destroyed by fire in 1906. University College (1876) forms the nucleus of the university of Bristol (chartered 1909). Clifton College, opened in 1862 and incorporated in 1877, includes a physical science school, with laboratories, a museum and observatory. Colston's girls' day school (1891) includes domestic economy and calisthenics. Among the many charitable institutions are the general hospital, opened in 1858, and since repeatedly enlarged; royal hospital for sick children and women, Royal Victoria home, and the Queen Victoria jubilee convalescent home.
Of the open spaces in and near Bristol the most extensive are those bordering the river in the neighbourhood of the gorge, Durdham and Clifton Downs, on the Gloucestershire side (see Clifton). Others are Victoria Park, south of the river, near the Bedminster station, Eastville Park by the Frome, on the north-east of the city beyond Stapleton Road station, St Andrew's Park near Montpelier station to the north, and Brandon Hill, west of the cathedral, an abrupt eminence commanding a fine view over the city, and crowned with a modern tower commemorating the "fourth centenary of the discovery of America by John Cabot, and sons Lewis, Sebastian and Sanctus." Other memorials in the city are the High Cross on College Green (1850), and statues of Queen Victoria (1888), Samuel Morley (1888), Edmund Burke (1894), and Edward Colston (1895), in whose memory are held annual Colston banquets.
Harbour and Trade.—Bristol harbour was formed in 1809 by the conversion of the Avon and a branch of the Frome into "the Float," by the cutting of a new channel for the Avon and the formation of two basins. Altogether the water area, at fixed level, is about 85 acres. Four dry docks open into the floating harbour. In 1884 the Avonmouth and Portishead docks at the river entrance were bought up by the city; and the port extends from Hanham Mills on the Avon to the mouth of the river, and for some distance down the estuary of the Severn. The city docks have a depth of 22 ft., while those at Avonmouth are accessible to the largest vessels. In 1902 the construction of the extensive Royal Edward dock at Avonmouth was put in hand by the corporation, and the dock was opened by King Edward VII. in 1908. It is entered by a lock 875 ft. long and 100 ft. wide, with a depth of water on the sill of 46 ft. at ordinary spring, and 36 ft. at ordinary neap tides. The dock itself has a mean length of 1120 ft. and a breadth of 1000 ft., and there is a branch and passage connecting with the old dock. The water area is about 30 acres, and the dock is so constructed as to be easily capable of extension. Portishead dock, on the Somerset shore, has an area of 12 acres. The port has a large trade with America, the West Indies and elsewhere, the principal imports being grain, fruit, oils, ore, timber, hides, cattle and general merchandise; while the exports include machinery, manufactured oils, cotton goods, tin and salt. The Elder Dempster, Dominion and other large steamship companies trade at the port.
The principal industries are shipbuilding, ropewalks, chocolate factories, sugar refineries, tobacco mills and pipe-making, glass works, potteries, soaperies, shoe factories, leather works and tanneries, chemical works, saw mills, breweries, copper, lead and shot works, iron works, machine works, stained-paper works, anchors, chain cables, sail-cloth, buttons. A coalfield extending 16 m. south-east to Radstock avails much for Bristol manufactures.
The parliamentary borough is divided into four divisions, each returning one member. The government of the city is in the hands of a lord mayor, 22 aldermen and 66 councillors. The area in 1901 was 11,705 acres; but in 1904 it was increased to 17,004 acres.
History.—Bristol (Brigstow, Bristou, Bristow, Bristole) is one of the best examples of a town that has owed its greatness entirely to trade. It was never a shire town or the site of a great religious house, and it owed little to its position as the head of a feudal lordship, or as a military post. Though it is near both British and Roman camps, there is no evidence of a British or Roman settlement. It was the western limit of the Saxon invasion of Britain, and about the year 1000 a Saxon settlement began to grow up at the junction of the rivers Frome and Avon, the natural advantages of the situation favouring the growth of the township. Bristol owed much to Danish rule, and during the reign of Canute, when the wool trade with
Ireland began, it became the market for English slaves. In the reign of Edward the Confessor the town was included in the earldom of Sweyn Godwinsson, and at the date of the Domesday survey it was already a royal borough governed by a reeve appointed by the king as overlord, the king's geld being assessed at 110 marks. There was a mint at the time of the Conquest, which proves that Bristol must have been already a place of some size, though the fact that the town was a member of the royal manor of Baston shows that its importance was still of recent growth. One-third of the geld was paid to Geoffrey de Coutances, bishop of Exeter, who threw up the earthworks of the castle. He joined in a rebellion against William II., and after his death the king granted the town and castle, as part of the honour of Gloucester, to Robert FitzHamon, whose daughter Mabel, marrying Earl Robert of Gloucester in 1119, brought him Bristol as her dowry. Earl Robert still further strengthened the castle, probably with masonry, and involved Bristol in the rebellion against Stephen. From the castle he harried the whole neighbourhood, threatened Bath, and sold his prisoners as slaves to Ireland. A contemporary chronicler describes Bristol castle as "seated on a mighty mound, and garrisoned with knights and foot soldiers or rather robbers and raiders," and he calls Bristol the stepmother of England.
The history of the charters granted to Bristol begins about this time. A charter granted by Henry II. in 1172 exempted the burgesses of Bristol from certain tolls throughout the kingdom, and confirmed existing liberties. Another charter of the same year granted the city of Dublin to the men of Bristol as a colony with the same liberties as their own town.
As a result probably of the close connexion between Bristol and Ireland the growth of the wool trade was maintained. Many Bristol men settled in Dublin, which for a long time was a Bristol beyond the seas, its charters being almost duplicates of those granted to Bristol. About this time Bristol began to export wool to the Baltic, and had developed a wine trade with the south of France, while soap-making and tanning were flourishing industries. Bristol was still organized manorially rather than municipally. Its chief courts were the weekly hundred court and the court leet held three times a year, and presided over by the reeve appointed by the earl of Gloucester. By the marriage of Earl John with the heiress of Earl William of Gloucester, Bristol became part of the royal demesne, the rent payable to the king being fixed, and the town shook off the feudal yoke. The charter granted by John in 1190 was an epoch in the history of the borough. It provided that no burgess should be impleaded without the walls, that no non-burgess should sell wine, cloth, wool, leather or corn in Bristol, that all should hold by burgage tenure, that corn need not be ground at the lord's mill, and that the burgesses should have all their reasonable gilds. At some uncertain date soon after this a commune was established in Bristol on the French model, Robert FitzNichol, the first mayor of Bristol, taking the oath in 1200. The mayor was chosen, not, like the reeve whom he had displaced, by the overlord, but by the merchants of Bristol who were members of the merchant gild. The first documentary evidence of the existence of the merchant gild appears in 1242. In addition, there were many craft gilds (later at least twenty-six were known to exist), the most important being the gilds of the weavers, tuckers and fullers, and the Gild of the Kalendars of Bristol, which devoted itself to religious, educational and social work. The mayor of Bristol was helped by two assistants, who were called provosts until 1267, and from 1267 to 1311 were known as stewards, and after that date as bailiffs. Before this time many religious houses had been founded. Earl Robert of Gloucester established the Benedictine priory of St James; there were Dominican and Franciscan priories, a monastery of Carmelites, and an abbey of St Augustine founded by Robert FitzHardinge.
In the reign of John, Bristol began the struggle to absorb the neighbouring manor of Bedminster, the eastern half of which was held by the Templars by gift of Earl Robert of Gloucester, and the western half, known as Redcliffe, was sold by the same earl to Robert FitzHardinge, afterwards Lord Berkeley. The Templars acquiesced without much difficulty, but the wealthy owners of the manor of Redcliffe, who had their own manorial courts, market, fair and quay, resisted the union for nearly one hundred years. In 1247 a new course was cut for the river Frome which vastly improved the harbour, and in the same year a stone bridge was built over the Avon, bringing Temple and Redcliffe into closer touch with the city. The charter granted by Henry III. in 1256 was important. It gave the burgesses the right to choose coroners, and as they already farmed the geld payable to the king, Bristol must have been practically independent of the king. The growing exclusiveness of the merchant gild led to the great insurrection of 1312. The oligarchical party was supported by the Berkeleys, but the opposition continued their rebellion until 1313, when the town was besieged and taken by the royal forces. During the reign of Edward III. cloth manufacture developed in Bristol. Thomas Blanket set up looms in 1337, employing many foreign workmen, and in 1353 Bristol was made one of the Staple towns, the office of mayor of the staple being held by the mayor of the town.
The charter of 1373 extended the boundaries of the town to include Redcliffe (thus settling the long-standing dispute) and the waters of the Avon and Severn up to the Steep and Flat Holmes; and made Bristol a county in itself, independent of the county courts, with an elected sheriff, and a council of forty to be chosen by the mayor and sheriff. The town was divided into five wards, each represented by an alderman, the aldermen alone being eligible for the mayoralty. This charter (confirmed in 1377 and 1488) was followed by the period of Bristol's greatest prosperity, the era of William Canyng, of the foundation of the Society of Merchant Venturers, and of the voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot. William Canyng (1399-1474) was five times mayor and twice represented Bristol in parliament; he carried on a huge cloth trade with the Baltic and rebuilt St Mary Redcliffe. At the same time cloth was exported by Bristol merchants to France, Spain and the Levant. The records of the Society of Merchant Venturers began in 1467, and the society increased in influence so rapidly that in 1500 it directed all the foreign trade of the city and had a lease of the port dues. It was incorporated in 1552, and received other charters in 1638 and 1662. Henry VII. granted Bristol a charter in 1499 (confirmed in 1510) which removed the theoretically popular basis of the corporation by the provision that the aldermen were to be elected by the mayor and council. At the dissolution of the monasteries the diocese of Bristol was founded, which included the counties of Bristol and Dorset. The voyages of discovery in which Bristol had played a conspicuous part led to a further trade development. In the 16th century Bristol traded with Spain, the Canaries and the Spanish colonies in America, shared in the attempt to colonize Newfoundland, and began the trade in African slaves which flourished during the 17th century. Bristol took a great share in the Civil War and was three times besieged. Charles II. granted a formal charter of incorporation in 1664, the governing body being the mayor, 12 aldermen, 30 common councilmen, 2 sheriffs, 2 coroners, a town clerk, clerk of the peace and 39 minor officials, the governing body itself filling up all vacancies in its number. In the 18th century the cloth trade declined owing to the competition of Ireland and to the general migration of manufactures to the northern coalfields, but the prosperity of the city was maintained by the introduction of manufactures of iron, brass, tin and copper, and by the flourishing West Indian trade, sugar being taken in exchange for African slaves.
The hot wells became fashionable in the reign of Anne (who granted a charter in 1710), and a little later Bristol was the centre of the Methodist revival of Whitefield and Wesley. The city was small, densely populated and dirty, with dark, narrow streets, and the mob gained an unenviable notoriety for violence in the riots of 1708, 1753, 1767 and 1831. At the beginning of the 19th century it was obvious that the prosperity of Bristol was diminishing, comparatively if not actually, owing to (1) the rise of Liverpool, which had more natural facilities as a port than Bristol could offer, (2) the abolition of the slave trade,
which ruined the West Indian sugar trade, and (3) the extortionate rates levied by the Bristol Dock Company, incorporated in 1803. These rates made competition with Liverpool and London impossible, while other tolls were levied by the Merchant Venturers and the corporation. The decline was checked by the efforts of the Bristol chamber of commerce (founded in 1823) and by the Municipal Reform Act of 1835. The new corporation, consisting of 48 councillors and 16 aldermen who elected the mayor, being themselves chosen by the burgesses of each ward, bought the docks in 1848 and reduced the fees. In 1877-1880 the docks at the mouth of the river at Avonmouth and Portishead were made, and these were bought by the corporation in 1884. A revival of trade, rapid increase of population and enlargement of the boundaries of the city followed. The chief magistrate became a lord mayor in 1899.
See J. Corry, History of Bristol (Bristol, 1816); J. Wallaway, Antiquities (1834); J. Evans, Chronological History of Bristol (1824); Bristol vol. of Brit. Archaeol. Inst.; J.F. Nicholl and J. Taylor, Bristol Past and Present (Bristol and London, 1882); W. Hunt, Bristol, in "Historic Towns" series (London, 1887); J. Latimer, Annals of Bristol (various periods); G.E. Weare, Collectanea relating to the Bristol Friars (Bristol, 1893); Samuel Seyer, History of Bristol and Bristol Charters (1812); The Little Red Book of Bristol (1900); The Maior's Kalendar (Camden Soc., 1872); Victoria County History, Gloucester.
BRISTOL, a borough of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on the Delaware river, opposite Burlington, New Jersey, 20 m. N.E. of Philadelphia. Pop. (1890) 6553; (1900) 7104 (1134 foreign-born); (1910) 9256. It is served by the Pennsylvania railway. The borough is built on level ground elevated several feet above the river, and in the midst of an attractive farming country. The principal business houses are on Mill Street; while Radcliffe Street extends along the river. Among Bristol's manufacturing establishments are machine shops, rolling mills, a planing mill, yarn, hosiery and worsted mills, and factories for making carpets, wall paper and patent leather. Bath Springs are located just outside the borough limits; though not so famous as they were early in the 18th century, these springs are still well known for the medicinal properties of their chalybeate waters. Bristol was one of the first places to be settled in Pennsylvania after William Penn received his charter for the province in 1681, and from its settlement until 1725 it was the seat of government of the county. It was laid out in 1697 and was incorporated as a borough in 1720; the present charter, however, dates only from 1851.
BRISTOL, the shire-township of Bristol county, Rhode Island, U.S.A., about 15 m. S.S.E. of Providence, between Narragansett Bay on the W. and Mount Hope Bay on the E., thus being a peninsula. Pop. (1900) 6901, of whom 1923 were foreign-born; (1905; state census) 7512; (1910) 8565; area 12 sq. m. It is served by the New York, New Haven & Hartford, and the Rhode Island Suburban railways, and is connected with the island of Rhode Island by ferry. Mount Hope (216 ft.), on the eastern side, commands delightful views of landscape, bay and river scenery. Elsewhere in the township the surface is gently undulating and generally well adapted to agriculture, especially to the growing of onions. A small island, Hog Island, is included in the township. The principal village, also known as Bristol, is a port of entry with a capacious and deep harbour, has manufactories of rubber and woollen goods, and is well known as a yacht-building centre, several defenders of the America's Cup, including the "Columbia" and the "Reliance," having been built in the Herreshoff yards here. At the close of King Philip's War in 1676, Mount Hope Neck (which had been the seat of the vanquished sachem), with most of what is now the township of Bristol, was awarded to Plymouth Colony. In 1680, immediately after Plymouth had conveyed the "Neck" to a company of four, the village was laid out; the following year, in anticipation of future commercial importance, the township and the village were named Bristol, from the town in England. The township became the shire-township in 1685, passed under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts in 1692, and in 1747 was annexed to Rhode Island. During the War of Independence the village was bombarded by the British on the 7th of October 1775, but suffered little damage; on the 25th of May 1778 it was visited and partially destroyed by a British force.
BRISTOL, a city of Sullivan county, Tennessee, and Washington county, Virginia, U.S.A., 130 m. N.E. of Knoxville, Tennessee, at an altitude of about 1700 ft. Pop. (1880) 3209; (1890) 6226; (1900) 9850 (including 1981 negroes); (1910) 13,395, of whom 7148 were in Tennessee and 6247 were in Virginia. Bristol is served by the Holston Valley, the Southern, the Virginia & South-Western, and the Norfolk & Western railways, and is a railway centre of some importance. It is near the great mineral deposits of Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina; an important distributing point for iron, coal and coke; and has tanneries and lumber mills, iron furnaces, tobacco factories, furniture factories and packing houses. It is the seat of Sullins College (Methodist Episcopal, South; 1870) for women, and of the Virginia Institute for Women (Baptist, 1884), both in the state of Virginia, and of a normal college for negroes, on the Tennessee side of the state line. The Tennessee-Virginia boundary line runs through the principal street, dividing the place into two separate corporations, the Virginia part, which before 1890 (when it was chartered as a city) was known as Goodson, being administratively independent of the county in which it is situated. Bristol was settled about 1835, and the town of Bristol, Tennessee, was first incorporated in 1856.
BRISTOW, BENJAMIN HELM (1832-1896), American lawyer and politician, was born in Elkton, Kentucky, on the 20th of June 1832, the son of Francis Marion Bristow (1804-1864), a Whig member of Congress in 1854-1855 and 1859-1861. He graduated at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1851, studied law under his father, and was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1853. At the beginning of the Civil War he became lieutenant-colonel of the 25th Kentucky Infantry; was severely wounded at Shiloh; helped to recruit the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, of which he was lieutenant-colonel and later colonel; and assisted at the capture of John H. Morgan in July 1863. In 1863-1865 he was state senator; in 1865-1866 assistant United States district-attorney, and in 1866-1870 district-attorney for the Louisville district; and in 1870-1872, after a few months' practice of law with John M. Harlan, was the (first appointed) solicitor-general of the United States. In 1873 President Grant nominated him attorney-general of the United States in case George H. Williams were confirmed as chief justice of the United States,—a contingency which did not arise. As secretary of the treasury (1874-1876) he prosecuted with vigour the so-called "Whisky Ring," the headquarters of which was at St Louis, and which, beginning in 1870 or 1871, had defrauded the Federal government out of a large part of its rightful revenue from the distillation of whisky. Distillers and revenue officers in St Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and other cities were implicated, and the illicit gains—which in St Louis alone probably amounted to more than $2,500,000 in the six years 1870-1876—were divided between the distillers and the revenue officers, who levied assessments on distillers ostensibly for a Republican campaign fund to be used in furthering Grant's re-election. Prominent among the ring's alleged accomplices at Washington was Orville E. Babcock, private secretary to President Grant, whose personal friendship for Babcock led him to indiscreet interference in the prosecution. Through Bristow's efforts more than 200 men were indicted, a number of whom were convicted, but after some months' imprisonment were pardoned. Largely owing to friction between himself and the president, Bristow resigned his portfolio in June 1876; as secretary of the treasury he advocated the resumption of specie payments and at least a partial retirement of "greenbacks"; and he was also an advocate of civil service reform. He was a prominent candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1876. After 1878 he practised law in New York City, where he died on the 22nd of June 1896.
See Memorial of Benjamin Helm Bristow, largely prepared by David Willcox (Cambridge, Mass., privately printed, 1897); Whiskey Frauds, 44th Cong., 1st Sess., Mis. Doc. No. 186; Secrets of the Great Whiskey Ring (Chicago, 1880), by John McDonald, who for nearly six years had been supervisor of internal revenue at St Louis,—a book by one concerned and to be considered in that light.
BRISTOW, HENRY WILLIAM (1817-1889), English geologist, son of Major-General H. Bristow, who served in the Peninsular War, was born on the 17th of May 1817. He was educated at King's College, London, under John Phillips, then professor of geology. In 1842 he was appointed assistant geologist on the Geological Survey, and in that service he remained for forty-six years, becoming director for England and Wales in 1872, and retiring in 1888. He was elected F.R.S. in 1862. He died in London on the 14th of June 1889. His publications (see Geol. Mag., 1889, p. 384) include A Glossary of Mineralogy (1861) and The Geology of the Isle of Wight (1862).
BRITAIN (Gr. Πρετανικαὶ νῆσοι, Βρεττανία; Lat. Britannia, rarely Brittania), the anglicized form of the classical name of England, Wales and Scotland, sometimes extended to the British Isles as a whole (Britannicae Insulae). The Greek and Roman forms are doubtless attempts to reproduce a Celtic original, the exact form of which is still matter of dispute. Brittany (Fr. Bretagne) in western France derived its name from Britain owing to migrations in the 5th and 6th century A.D. The personification of Britannia as a female figure may be traced back as far as the coins of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius (early 2nd century A.D.); its first appearance on modern coins is on the copper of Charles II. (see Numismatics).
In what follows, the archaeological interest of early Britain is dealt with, in connexion with the history of Britain in Pre-Roman, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon days; this account being supplementary to the articles England; English History; Scotland, &c.