Victoria Bridge, Stockton-on-Tees
| Victoria Jubilee Bridge | |
| County Durham, Yorkshire | |
|---|---|
 Victoria Bridge over the river Tees | |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | Bridge Road (A1130) |
| Crossing: | River Tees |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ44921834 |
| Location: | 54°33’30"N, 1°18’25"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 340 feet Main span: 110 feet |
| Design: | Wrought iron arch |
| Material: | Wrought and cast iron, stone and concrete |
| History | |
| Built =1887 | |
| Information | |
The Victoria Jubilee Bridge, also known as Victoria Bridge, is a road bridge carrying Bridge Road (A1130) east west across the River Tees between Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham and Thornaby-on-Tees in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Commonly referred to as the Victoria Bridge, it is located just south-east of Stockton town centre.
The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1887 under the authority of a private Act of Parliament in 1881; built by Whitaker Brothers of Leeds,[1][2][3]
The bridge was financed by the local council, a tramway company, North East Railways and by the water board,[3] and its name commemorates the 50th year of the reign of Queen Victoria.[3][4]
History
Before the existence of a bridge at this location communication was provided by Bishop's Ferry.
The first bridge was a five arch Stockton (stone) Bridge completed in 1771, designed by Joseph Robson of Sunderland.[1][3][4][5] This replaced Yarm Bridge as the lowest bridge point on the River Tees and was toll free by 1820.[6]
Design
The design is a wrought-iron arch bridge by Charles Neate and consulting engineer Harrison Haytor.[1][2][3]
The foundations of the abutments and piers are five cylindrical columns, 40 feet deep and 14 feet in diameter.[1] The abutments are faced with granite and sandstone and are filled in with large stone rubble.[5]
The bridge has three arches, or which the centre arch is 110 feet, while the side arches are 85 feet.[5]
The road is 40 feet wide and the pavement 10 feet.[7]
The balustrades are cast iron with an open design of interlocking circles, and on the parapets are ornamental cast-iron lampposts carrying modern lights while the spandrels are open cast-iron work with a design of diminishing interlocking circles.[2]
At either side of the bridge are land-based arches that are currently impassable on the upriver side. These were designed to allow horse-drawn barges to pass under the bridge.
Pictures
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Outside links
- Victoria Bridge, Stockton-on-Tees: Bridges on the Tyne
- Victoria Bridge at Structurae
- 'Victoria Bridge Stockton': Civil Engineering Heritage
- Historic photographs: This is Stockton on Tees
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rennison, Robert William (1996). Civil engineering heritage. ISBN 9780727725189. https://books.google.com/books?id=Bv2BrOMo8cIC&q=Victoria+Bridge+Stockton&pg=PA93. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 National Heritage List 1393672: Victoria Bridge, Thornaby (Grade II listing)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Victoria Bridge, Stockton-on-Tees". Bridges on the Tyne. 2007. http://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/victoria.html.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kenyon, Chris. "A Trip up the Tees". Tees Rowing Club. http://www.teesrowingclub.co.uk/v_tripuptees.asp.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "SINE Project, Structure Details for Victoria Bridge". Sine – Structural Images of the North East. University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=351.
- ↑ A History of the County of Durham - Volume 3 pp 348-365: Parishes: Stockton on Tees (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Proud, Keith (2 May 2007). "How Thornaby turned into a pottery town". The Northern Echo. NewsBank. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=how%20thornaby%20turned%20into%20a%20pottery%20town&docref=news/118E9A7F53875038.
