[3] The early 16th-century antiquary John Leland recorded that there were three arches.

[3] A watercolour of Durham Cathedral painted by Thomas Girtin in 1799 shows a third arch, with a rounded shape[3] characteristic of Norman architecture.

[3] Some sources indicate that both ends of the bridge were fortified by towers and gates, though others infer only a single gatehouse was built on the peninsula side of the river.

[citation needed] The gateway and tower at the eastern end of the bridge were deemed an obstruction to traffic and demolished in 1760.

[3] In 1318, Robert Neville, the "Peacock of the North", murdered his cousin, the Bishop's Steward, Sir Richard Fitzmarmaduke, at Framwellgate Bridge.