The Old Exe Bridge is a ruined medieval bridge in Exeter, England. Built from around 1190 and completed by 1214, it is the oldest surviving bridge of its size in England and the oldest bridge in Britain with a chapel on it. The project was the idea of influential local merchants Nicholas and Walter Gervase, father and son. The bridge was at least 590 feet (180 metres) long and probably had 17 or 18 arches, carrying the road across the flood plain of the River Exe. St Edmund's Church, the bridge chapel, was built into the bridge at the time of its construction. Later all but the central section carried buildings. The bridge collapsed and had to be partially rebuilt several times but remained in use for almost 600 years, until a replacement was built in 1778 and the arches across the river were demolished. In 1969 eight and a half arches of the medieval bridge were uncovered and restored. The bridge's remains are a scheduled monument and a Grade II listed building.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Exe_Bridge

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1877:

The Constantinople Conference concluded with the Great Powers declaring the need for political reforms, which the Ottoman Empire refused to undertake, later resulting in the Russo-Turkish War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople_Conference

1942:

The Holocaust: Reinhard Heydrich and other senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference near Berlin to discuss the implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference

1992:

Air Inter Flight 148 crashed into the Vosges while circling to land at Strasbourg Airport, France, resulting in 87 deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Inter_Flight_148

2009:

In Washington, D.C., more than one million people attended the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

acquit: 1. (transitive) To declare or find innocent or not guilty. 2. (transitive) To discharge (for example, a claim or debt); to clear off, to pay off; to fulfil. 3. (transitive) Followed by of (and formerly by from): to discharge, release, or set free from a burden, duty, liability, or obligation, or from an accusation or charge. 4. (reflexive) To bear or conduct oneself; to perform one's part. 5. (reflexive) To clear oneself. 6. (transitive, archaic) past participle of acquit. 7. (transitive, obsolete) To release, to rescue, to set free. 8. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To pay for; to atone for. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acquit

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

One change of attitude would change everything. If everyone realized that it could be a beautiful world and said let's not do these things anymore — let's have fun.   --David Lynch https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Lynch