Parish priests and their people in the Middle Ages in England . a mediaeval town. A goodhard road through a wild boggy tract, or a raisedcauseway across the often flooded valley in whichthe town was situated, or a stone bridge in place ofa dangerous ford or inconvenient ferry, conferred avery real benefit upon the whole community, fromthe king in his royal progresses through the countryto the peasantry who brought their produce to theweekly market. Men wisely included road-makingand bridge-building among meritorious acts of charity,and the calendar of chantries, etc., contains a number * See a
Parish priests and their people in the Middle Ages in England . a mediaeval town. A goodhard road through a wild boggy tract, or a raisedcauseway across the often flooded valley in whichthe town was situated, or a stone bridge in place ofa dangerous ford or inconvenient ferry, conferred avery real benefit upon the whole community, fromthe king in his royal progresses through the countryto the peasantry who brought their produce to theweekly market. Men wisely included road-makingand bridge-building among meritorious acts of charity,and the calendar of chantries, etc., contains a number * See an account of them in Scenes and Characters of the MiddleAges. Virtue and Co, 528 PARISH PRIESTS AND THEIR PEOPLE. of endowments which were given or bequeathed forthese purposes. Very frequently the pious builderof a bridge added a religious foundation to it inthe shape of a little chapel; sometimes the chapelwas built at one end of the bridge ; more commonly,perhaps, the central pier on one side of the bridgewas enlarged, and the chapel picturesquely erected. Bridge and Chapel, Wakefield. Upon it. The chapel was endowed with a stipend fora perpetual chantry priest to say prayers there for thefamily of the bridge-builder, and for all Christianpeople ; and no doubt the founder hoped for himselfthe prayers of all the Christian people who used hisbridge. Those of us who, lounging about thechurches of other countries as sight-seers, have seenthe market women come in, set down their baskets THE MEDIAEVAL TOWNS. 529 on the floor, and kneel down for a few moments forsilent prayer, will easily understand the practicalreligious uses of these bridge-chapels. Perhaps the chapel built on the new stone LondonBridge of 1176 was one of the earliest and the mostimportant of them. It was built over a crypt on thecentral pier on the eastern side of the bridge,and dedicated to St. Thomas the Martyr, who hadbeen canonized three years before. It had a masterand fraternity, and several chantries were
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