Timeline

• 1676

  Humphrey Jervis commences building of the first Essex Bridge, which is masonry with a drawbridge section.

• 1687

  Heavy flooding brought down a pier of the bridge, it was repaired by building a new pier upon the ruins of the old one, the opening span was also closed around this time.

• c1700

  George Semple is born.

• 1722
  

  An equestrian statue of George 1, commanding a seaward view, is placed on a pier abutting from the upstream side of Essex Bridge.

• 1751

  Parts of the bridge piers and arches fall and are repaired with timber works by Semple at a cost of £800.

• 1753

  19th January, Semple commences preliminary work on the site of the new Essex Bridge.

• 1755

  April, the new Essex Bridge opens to traffic, modelled on Westminster Bridge, yet proudly reported by Semple as wider.

• 1782

  George Semple dies in Dublin.

• 1808-1809

  Essex Bridge is improved by the addition of metal balustrades.

• 1873

  16th June, work begins on taking down Semple’s bridge and the erection of a new bridge.

• 1874

  1st October, the carriageway of Bindon Stoney’s new Essex Bridge is opened, though the walkways were not complete and the ironworks unpainted. The following January the bridge is named for parliamentarian Henry Grattan.

• 1982

  With the reversal of traffic flow on the Quays in August two way traffic across Grattan Bridge ceased and it became one way only north to south.

• 2002-2004
  

  The pedestrian walkways are upgraded and repair work is also undertaken by Dublin City Council to the bridge superstructure.