AT various locations around Britain there have survived a number of bridge chapels. Some are in Yorkshire.

Splendidly preserved examples that were built as parts of bridges can be seen in Wakefield, Rotherham, Bradford-on-Avon and St Ives in Cambridgeshire.

These are the only four survivors of such chapels in England.

Chapels at Derby and Rochester have also survived but they are not constructed upon the bridges, although stand very close to them.

As the name indicates, these were chapels that were especially built on or near bridges, long before the Reformation, with some dating back to the 12th century.

Building of bridge chapels continued in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.

In some cases, they were known as chantry bridge chapels and many were dedicated to Our Lady or the Blessed Virgin Mary, thus indicating their Catholic origins.

Many were destroyed in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, probably during the Edwardine Visitations, but a few survived.

These chapels have often been described as churches in miniature, for their purpose was to provide a place of worship where mass was celebrated for travellers and pilgrims.

The chapels were usually built on bridges, forming part of the main approach to towns and abbeys.

However, they had a secondary purpose – the congregations who attended mass would be expected to donate cash to the chapel, this useful fund being used to preserve, repair and maintain both chapel and bridge.

The donations also paid the expenses of the resident priest who said mass, and he would be expected to offer mass for deceased members of travellers’ families or local residents, as well as those injured or attacked by robbers while on the road. Travelling during those times was a risky occupation.

The fact that chapels on or near bridges were protected by patrons such as the Virgin Mary, or a local or renowned saint, meant the bridge was also subject to that same protection.

This sometimes led to bridges bearing the names of saints long after the chapels had disappeared – in fact, London’s famous bridge with houses and the chapel of St Thomas a Becket built upon it was for a long time known as The Bridge of Saints.

In this region, a notable bridge was built at Catterick in 1425. It was then on the Roman road known as Erming (Ermine) Street and its builders were ordered to “make a brigge of stane oure ye water of Swalle atte Catrik betwixt ye olde stane brigge and ye new brigge of tree” (wood).

It had to be like the bridge at Barnard Castle, with “building being completed by Ye feaste of Saint Michille ye Arcangell in ye yeare of our Lord Gode Mle ccccxxv”.

I believe this bridge had a chapel nearby which helped to raise the cash required for its construction and maintenance – i.e. the pious offerings made at the chapel of the bridge – but my records are not clear about that particular chapel.

Of some interest is the name of one of the stonemasons – Thos Ampilforde. Could he be from Ampleforth?

The bridge that spanned the River Ouse at York had a chapel at its west side. It was known as St William’s Chapel and an interesting story is linked to it. It was built upon orders of the King soon after the bridge was completed in 1268.

It seems that following completion of the bridge, a Scottish nobleman was visiting York. When he went to look at the bridge, along with some of his servants, they were attacked and several Scotsmen were killed.

The fracas came to the notice of the kings of both England and Scotland, and their deliberations decided that the people of York should pay the huge sum of £300 in compensation, and also erect a chapel near the bridge.

There must also be two priests to say mass and pray for the souls of the deceased.

After the Reformation, that chapel was turned into the Exchange for the Society of Hamburg Merchants in York. It was demolished when a new bridge was built in 1810.

Helmsley had a Chapel of Our Lady on Rye Bridge where travellers left to enter the town, and there was another in the castle.

There was also a very ancient chapel dedicated to St Ninian at the end of Whitby Bridge, although there was another in the market place said to have been the true chapel of St Ninian. Some sources suggest the latter was dedicated to St Helen.

Modern travellers have likened these ancient chapels to their modern counterparts in airports around the world.

Earlier this week, I observed a fascinating example of the wonders of nature. The centre of my attention was a tiny, light brown ant which was only about an eighth of an inch long.

It looked like a very small red ant and it was moving across our terrace with all its hollows and summits, rather like me hiking on the North York Moors.

What fascinated me was that the ant was carrying a large dead fly. The fly was several times bigger than the ant and I likened it to me trying to carry a horse or even an elephant.

How that tiny ant succeeded in lifting the fly was itself something of a mystery but to carry it across that wide uneven surface was truly astonishing.

I could not see how it gripped the fly but watched for several minutes, wondering where the ant was heading with its trophy.

At the distant end of the terrace, where the mortar between two stones had been disturbed by the winter frosts, I noticed a small gap, certainly enough to accommodate the ant and its luggage.

But it did not go there.

It went around in a large circle, always carrying its load and it seemed to be seeking a destination.

I watched for several minutes as the ant never rested or put down the fly, it continued to march in a large irregular circle and I tried to imagine a human carrying a horse or an elephant in like manner.

The end of this little saga came when the ant placed the fly on the ground and went off alone, as if seeking a conclusion to its trip. I expected it to return to resume its journey, but it did not. It vanished into the undergrowth beside our terrace, abandoning the fly.

I wondered why it had made that long and tough journey, but the mystery remains. I never saw the return of the ant and so I gave the fly a decent burial.