Bridge ward is an electoral ward in the city of Nottingham, England. The ward contains over 270 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, two are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, 18 are at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The ward includes the centre of the city, and the area to the south towards the River Trent. The districts contained in the ward include Nottingham city centre, Lace Market and The Meadows.[1]
Initially a market town, Nottingham became involved in the textile industry as early as the 12th century. In the early 18th century it had become a centre for the hosiery industry, with many buildings containing stocking knitting frames. From the 1780s this developed into the lace industry, and the stocking frames were adapted for lace production. By the 1840s, the town had become the English centre for lace production, with the building of factories and warehouses.[2] Many of the listed buildings were associated with the lace industry, including houses with attics lit by long horizontal windows, former factories and warehouses, which have later been used for other purposes. The other listed buildings include houses and associated structures, shops, offices, churches, chapels and items in churchyards, public buildings, bridges, former almshouses, banks, railway buildings, a boundary marker, statues, a former toll house, canal buildings, public conveniences, a former tram depot, entrances to the Victoria Embankment, a former cinema, war memorials, flagstaffs and lamp posts, and telephone kiosks.