Wynch Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 54°38′46″N2°9′2″W / 54.64611°N 2.15056°W |
OS grid reference | NY904279 |
Crosses | River Tees |
Locale | Bowlees, County Durham Holwick, North Yorkshire Low Force |
Heritage status | Grade II* listed [1] |
Historic England numbers | 1121562 [1] |
Preceded by | Holwick Head Bridge |
Followed by | Scoberry Bridge |
History | |
Built | 1741 |
Rebuilt | 1830 |
Location | |
Wynch Bridge or Winch Bridge is a suspension bridge on the River Tees. The original Wynch Bridge was said to be the first suspension bridge in Britain, being built in 1741.
To persons accustomed to it, it is a very safe passage, but to strangers it is tremendous. At every step, the chains and their superstructure yield and spring, and there is no safeguard for the passenger but a small hand rail, which if leaned against gives the bridge a swinging motion, whilst beneath you yawns a black and horrid chasm, 60ft in depth, where the torrent rushes with a mighty noise amongst broken rocks.
William Hutchinson,1776 [2]
The original Bridge comprised a single span of 60 feet (18 m) with a width of two feet (61 cm) and the deck laid directly upon 2 chains, 21 inches (53 cm) apart. It was restrained by further chains connecting the deck to the rock faces of the 60ft deep chasm below. [3] [4] [5] It had only one hand rail, when first constructed but was given two after the damage of the 1774 flood. [2]
The bridge was built in 1741 for use by lead-miners, wishing to cross between Holwick and Bowlees. [7] [6] Tradition holds, that it was the Holwick miners, employed at the Read-grove and Pike-Law lead mines, who constructed the bridge, with suggestion that inspiration was taken descriptions of suspension bridges found in the Himalayas. [5] It is believed that this would make it the first suspension bridge in Britain, and only the second in Europe, after the first in Saxony was built 7 years earlier. [8] [2]
In the Great Flood of 1771 the south end of the bridge was lifted from its moorings. It was repaired, although no details of its repair have been located. It was repaired again in 1802, after one of the chains broke causing the death of 2 people. The bridge continued in use until a similar replacement was erected in 1830. [3] [9] This replacement was financed by the Marquess of Cleveland, and was moved ten metres (33 ft) further downstream from Low Force, with more substantial metal pillars holding the chains to the rock. [2] [6]
An inspection in 2018 lead to safety fears due to the condition of suspension hangers, and the bridge closed for 2 months in 2019 to undertake urgent repairs, with decking and suspension joints being fixed. [10] [11] [12]
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridges, which lack vertical suspenders, have a long history in many mountainous parts of the world.
Barnard Castle is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit and paintings by Goya and El Greco.
Low Force is an 18-foot (5.5m) high set of falls on the River Tees, England, UK. Further upstream is the High Force waterfall. Low Force is also the site of the Wynch Bridge, completed in 1830. It is suggested by signs at each end that only one person at a time should cross the bridge as it may be unstable.
The River Tees, in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries on Teesside in its lower reaches, where it has provided the means of import and export of goods to and from the North East England. The need for water further downstream also meant that reservoirs were built in the extreme upper reaches, such as Cow Green.
Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, on the south side of the river. The current bridge, which is Grade II* listed and was designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, is the second permanent bridge on the site, and has been attacked three times by Irish republicans.
County Durham, officially simply Durham (/ˈdʌrəm/), is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne and Wear to the north, the North Sea to the east, North Yorkshire to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The largest settlement is Darlington.
The Tees Transporter Bridge, also referred to as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge or locally as The Transporter, is a bridge over the River Tees in northern England. The northern side is in Port Clarence (Stockton-on-Tees) and the southern side is in Middlehaven (Middlesbrough). It is grade II* listed and the longest existing transporter in the world. Its winch house and piers are grade II listed.
Holwick is a small village in Teesdale, County Durham (district), England. Located in the Pennine hills, it consists of a few houses spread along a road in the pattern of a linear settlement. As the population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100, details are maintained in the parish of Lunedale.
Piercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 113. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260–270, which was built at the point where Dere Street crossed the River Tees. Part of the fort is under the village green. The village is sited where the York-Newstead Roman road known as Dere Street crosses the River Tees.
Winston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Barnard Castle, on a crossroads between the A67 and B6274 roads. According to the 2011 UK Census the population was 431, the parish includes the hamlets of Little Newsham and South Cleatlam.
Newbiggin is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 146. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale, opposite Holwick. An influx of Derbyshire lead miners into the area in the late 18th century may have brought the name from Biggin. The village is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is in Teesdale, on the River Tees's north banks, and surrounded by the North Pennines. The town is between Eggleston and Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of Barnard Castle.
Whorlton is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated near the River Tees and to the east of Barnard Castle.
The Union Chain Bridge or Union Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Tweed between Horncliffe, Northumberland, England and Fishwick, Berwickshire, Scotland. It is four miles (6.4 km) upstream of Berwick-upon-Tweed. When it opened in 1820 it was the longest wrought iron suspension bridge in the world with a span of 449 feet (137 m), and the first vehicular bridge of its type in the United Kingdom. Although work started on the Menai Suspension Bridge first, the Union Bridge was completed first. The suspension bridge, which is a Category A listed building in Scotland, is now the oldest to be still carrying road traffic.
Chepstow Railway Bridge was built to the instructions of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1852. The "Great Tubular Bridge" over the River Wye at Chepstow, which at that point forms the boundary between Wales and England, is considered one of Brunel's major achievements, despite its appearance. It was economical in its use of materials, and would prove to be the design prototype for Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. Although the superstructure has since been replaced, Brunel's tubular iron supports are still in place. It is a Grade II listed structure.
Teesside Airport railway station is on the Tees Valley line which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington in County Durham, England. The station is 5.5 miles (9 km) east of Darlington and about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Teesside International Airport, which owns the station. It is managed by Northern Trains, which also operated the limited service calling at the station prior to its temporary closure in 2022.
A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest.
The Great Flood of 1771 affected several rivers, including the Tyne, Tees, Wear and Eden and settlements across Northern England from 16 and 17 November 1771. Its cause was a sudden thaw of the ice in upper Teesdale, a cloud burst over the Pennines and a continuous period of rain.
Forest and Frith is a civil parish in the County Durham unitary authority, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. In the 2011 census it had a population of 163.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)