 A 17th-century illustration shows that these bridge houses were five storeys high, including the attic rooms, and that they overhung the river much as Tudor houses would overhang the street.In the 1760s a bill to replace the bridge was carried through parliament by the Bristol MP Sir Jarrit Smyth.By the early 18th century, increase in traffic and the encroachment of shops on the roadway made the bridge fatally dangerous for many pedestrians.