Bridge Street leads south from the Cross, it has ancient Rows on either side. The fashionable Arcade known as St. Michael's Arcade communicates at one end with Bridge Street Row East, and at the other with Newgate Street.

This, with the continuous lines of shops in the Row adjoining and on both sides of the street below, constitutes an excellent shopping centre. Bridge Street Row West has a charm of its own and reminds one of the Stuart period, when Bridge Street was fashionable as the place where many of the leading county families had their town houses.

One such house of the Stuart period can be seen in No.12, which, moreover, contains in its basement an exquisite crypt of the fourteenth century.

In the Row on the opposite side stands " The Blue Posts," formerly an inn, about which the following story is told :- In 1558, Dr. Henry Cole, Dean of St. Paul's, was sent by Queen Mary with a commission to the Council in Ireland. He stopped a night at "The Blue Posts" on his way to Dublin, and was visited by the Mayor, to whom he confided the purpose of his errand, and showed the Mayor a leather box, exclaiming: "Here's what will lash the heretics of Ireland!" The landlady, who had a brother in Dublin, overheard this, and took the opportunity to substitute for the commission in the box a pack of cards, with the knave uppermost. Dr. Cole went on to Dublin, suspecting nothing of what had been done.

Some interesting remains of the Roman occupation (first century) are to be seen in No.39, comprising a hypocaust, or furnace, used for heating sweating baths, and a reservoir supplied with water from a spring. These are open to visitors for inspection on payment of a small fee. In the Row above stands the old St. Michael's Rectory, No. 49, and St. Michael's Church, in existence in 1178 and largely rebuilt in 1850 is at the far end.