Gated bridge
The Monnow Bridge at Monmouth in
South wales, a fine stone bridge, was built in the late
1200’s It is the sole remaining
mediaeval fortified river bridge in Britain where the gate tower stands actually
on the bridge.
Bridge chapel
Another fine arched bridge spans the River Ouse at St Ives
in Cambridgeshire and still carries heavy traffic after five centuries. Midway across this bridge is a tiny chapel
built onto the parapet, with its foundations resting on a pontoon. The purpose of this type of ‘chantry chapel’
was more than likely to collect offerings from passengers, a type of toll in
fact. Wealthy people were encouraged to
endow such bridges on the principle that it was pious work.
St Ives
An old toll bridge
Pretty villages abound in the Peak District of Derbyshire
and Baslow, situated on the River Derwent close to Chatsworth, is no
exception. An ancient stone bridge
crosses the river in this small village and there is a curious little stone
toll booth built into one end.
Baslow Bridge
Still a toll bridge
Travellers crossing the Vale of York are often relieved to
find a small bridge near to the village
of Aldwark over which
they can cross the River Ouse. This
bridge is one of the last remaining toll bridges in Yorkshire . Cars can cross the narrow bridge on payment
of just a few pence.
Toll free
Lower down the Ouse at Selby an incredible wooden, opening
bridge, which swivels on ball bearings, carries traffic over the river at what was the
only crossing point in the town before 2004. Built
in 1791, the original bridge was replace in 1970 at a cost of £125,000 and had
to be built of wood as originally specified by Act of Parliament. This
toll bridge had created a huge bottle-neck for traffic, especially when the bridge was opened for river traffic, as a result of
which the toll was abolished and traffic was able to move more quickly. Further relief came when the town by-passs was opened in 2004 with its new river bridge, leaving the old wooden bridge very much a relic of the past.
Selby Bridge
© Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
To whom I am grateful for the use of his Geograph photograph
The Tyne Bridge
Although the famous ‘Tyne Bridge ’
is known all over the world, there are actually 10 bridges over the River Tyne
connecting Newcastle
and Gateshead . The Tyne Bridge
was the longest single span bridge in the UK when it was built in 1928 and
opened by King George V. It carried the A1 road, which at that time ran straight
through Gateshead and Newcastle , but now crosses the Tyne over a new bridge further to the west.
Berwick Bridge
Berwick-on-Tweed has long been England ’s
northern outpost. Situated on the River
Tweed between the north east of England
and Scotland ,
it had a turbulent history, changing hands many times before finally becoming
English in 1482. A very fine stone
arched bridge was built over the river in 1624, connecting the town with
Tweedmouth, and is still used for motor traffic together with a more modern
construction. The 15 arches of varying
height and width ‘walk’ gracefully over the water, as one commentator put it, ‘Like a herd of elephants crossing the
river.’
The River Bain
The view from the old
bridge at Bainbridge in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire ,
gives a view of what seems to be a perfectly normal river. However, the River Bain is the shortest
river in England .
This river drains out of nearby Semerwater
and runs for just 2 miles through Bainbridge to join the River Ure.
The River Bain
No comments:
Post a Comment