Mercury Bridge

Mercury Bridge
Mercury Bridge
Coordinates	54°24′15″N1°43′51″W / 54.40403°N 1.73088°W / 54.40403; -1.73088
OS grid reference	NZ175009
Carries	A6136 road
Crosses	River Swale
Locale	Richmond, North Yorkshire, England
Other name(s)	Station Bridge
Named for	Royal Signals
History
Opened	1846
Statistics
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated	4 February 1969
Reference no.	1317112
Location

Mercury Bridge (also known as Station Bridge), is a grade II listed structure that crosses the River Swale in North Yorkshire, connecting the town of Richmond to the south side of the river. The bridge was commissioned by the railway company whose Richmond railway station terminus lay across the river, and so provided ease of access to Richmond town where there had not been a bridge before. The bridge now carries the A6136 road and was renamed from Station Bridge in 1975 in honour of the Royal Corps of Signals (whose cap badge has a winged Mercury motif). The bridge was noted for being one of a few railway-owned bridges which carried no rails.

History

The Great North of England Railway company received assent to build a line from Eryholme ^{[note 1]} on their main line (later the East Coast Main Line), to Richmond in 1845. ^[2] Richmond was the terminus of the branch, and besides the station building, it had a vast array of buildings designed by George Townsend Andrews, including the bridge for which he had overall responsibility, but the structural design was carried out by the office of Robert Stephenson. ^[3]

Mercury Bridge was a rarity in England being a bridge owned by a railway company, but for which no rails were laid. It was built purely for the public to access the station area, which lay in a different parish to that of Richmond, on the south side of the River Swale. ^{[4] [5] [note 2]} Until the building of Mercury Bridge (then station Bridge) in 1846, the only river crossing at Richmond was the Green Bridge, which carried the Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike. ^{[8] [9]} For nearly seventy years, the bridge only led to the railway station, but in the First World War, a contingent of Italian prisoners of war extended the road to Catterick Garrison, and this eventually became the A6136 road. ^{[10] [11]}

Mercury Bridge has four arches of 52-foot (16 m) each, 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and the roadway is 20 feet (6.1 m) across, and when built, had footpaths on either side of the bridge deck. ^[12] In 1920, the bridge was adopted by the local authority (North Riding, then in 1974, North Yorkshire), however, it still retained its old North Eastern Railway bridge plates (No. 8). ^[13]

The bridge has four chamfered pointed arches, each 52 feet (16 m) long, and the parapet is decorated with matching modillions. The parapet used to have several octagonal columns which protruded out from the piers above the parapet level, and housed gas lamps, but now some of these lights have been removed. ^{[14] [12] [15]} Severe flooding on the River Swale in the year 2000 damaged the central pier when the riverbed was swept away during the inundation, closing the bridge for several months. ^[16] The repairs were carried out to the bridge's stonework, but the repair and the replaced stone are quite visible against the older parts of the bridge. ^[17]

In 1975, the bridge was renamed to Mercury Bridge in honour of the Royal Corps of Signals 50th anniversary. The regiment was based locally in Catterick and a winged Mercury is the regimental motif as adorned on their cap badge. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21]}

Apart from crossing the River Swale, a staircase on the eastern side provides access to green spaces adjoining the south bank of the river. ^[22]

Notes

1. Originally, the junction was known as Dalton, being renamed to Eryholme in 1901. ^[1]
2. Similar ventures whereby bridges were built to allow access and egress to stations (Keswick and Cleckheaton Spen), but Mercury Bridge was later acquired by the county council and had been made into an A Road, which others have not. ^{[6] [7]}

References

1. Hoole, Kenneth (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. p. 65. ISBN   0-7153-8527-5.
2. Hoole, K. (1973). Forgotten railways; North-East England. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. p. 82. ISBN   0-7153-5894-4.
3. Fawcett, Bill (2011). George Townsend Andrews of York; 'the Railway Architect'. Yorkshire Architectural & York Archaeological Society. p. 165. ISBN   978-1-873513-76-7.
4. "Disused Stations: Richmond Station". disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
5. RCAA 2019, p. 56.
6. "Disused Stations: Keswick Station". disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
7. Bairstow, Martin (1984). The Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Railway; the Standedge Line. Pudsey: Bairstow. p. 26. ISBN   0-90243830-1.
8. Lloyd, Chris (2 January 2022). "The Good Intent: Long lost pub where drinkers elected their own mayor". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
9. RCAA 2019, p. 74.
10. Hoole, Ken (1985). North Eastern branch line termini. Poole: Oxford Publishing Company. p. 106. ISBN   0-86093-219-2.
11. Historic England. "Mercury Bridge (Grade II) (1317112)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 1 October 2024.
12. Rennison, Robert William; Barbey, M. F. (1996). Civil engineering heritage. Northern England (2 ed.). London: T. Telford. p. 137. ISBN   0727725181.
13. Hoole, Ken (1985). North Eastern branch line termini. Poole: Oxford Publishing Company. p. 107. ISBN   0-86093-219-2.
14. Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's historic railway buildings: an Oxford gazetteer of structures and sites. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 417. ISBN   0198662475.
15. Fawcett, Bill (2011). George Townsend Andrews of York; 'the Railway Architect'. Yorkshire Architectural & York Archaeological Society. p. 169. ISBN   978-1-873513-76-7.
16. Hatcher, Jane (2004). The History of Richmond, North Yorkshire. Pickering: Blackthorn Press. p. 4. ISBN   0-9546300-1-7.
17. RCAA 2019, p. 8.
18. Hatcher, Jane (1990). Richmondshire architecture. Richmond: Hatcher. p. 224. ISBN   0951588001.
19. RCAA 2019, p. 103.
20. "Cap badge, other ranks, Royal Corps of Signals, 1940 (c) | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London". collection.nam.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
21. Hatcher, Jane (2004). The History of Richmond, North Yorkshire. Pickering: Blackthorn Press. p. 221. ISBN   0-9546300-1-7.
22. RCAA 2019, p. 102.

Sources

• Richmond Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals (PDF). richmondshire.gov.uk (Report). Richmondshire District Council. 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2024.

Bridges over the River Swale
Upstream: Green Bridge	Downstream: Easby Bridge