Yarm Bridge
| Yarm Bridge | |
| County Durham, Yorkshire | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | A67 road |
| Crossing: | River Tees |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ418131 |
| Location: | 54°30’43"N, 1°21’21"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 330 feet |
| History | |
| Built 1400 | |
| Information | |
Yarm Bridge is a mediæval stone road bridge over the River Tees, connecting Yarm in the North Riding of Yorkshire with Egglescliffe in County Durham.[1]
The bridge is a Grade II* listed structure.[2][3]
History
The main thoroughfare through the town of Yarm was historically West Street, which at the River Tees led to a ford.[4] A "bridge of Yarum" is mentioned in 1228, with a bridge at the location seemingly in a bad condition, in 1305 when Edward I granted a 5 year toll to repair it.[5] In 1400, Walter Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham, ordered a replacement road bridge in stone.[4] It originally consisted of 5 pointed arches, however in the modern day, only the three central arches remain.[5]
During the Civil War the northmost arch of the bridge was destroyed and was replaced by a draw bridge, to prevent parliamentary forces from attacking the controlling royalists.[5][6] This span was not replaced until 1785.[4]
The Great Flood of 1771 on the Tees caused major damage to many of the river's bridges. Despite escaping the flood without damage, the small size of bridges span meant that the flow was unable to pass beneath and instead serious damage was caused to the town, with every house being underwater.[7] Partly as a result of a desire to avoid this problem in future and a need to increase the bridge's capacity for traffic, it was decided, in 1803, to replace the bridge with an iron bridge.[4][7]
A new bridge was built under the direction of Thomas Wilson. By 1805 the arches where erected.[8] Unfortunately, at the beginning of the next year, the completed but unopened structure collapsed, and the stone bridge was instead doubled in width.[4][7]
Today Yarm Bridge carries the A67 road.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Yarm Bridge) |
- Yarm Bridge: Bridges on the Tyne
Refences
- ↑ "Yarm Bridge". https://heritage.stockton.gov.uk/articles/places/yarm-bridge/.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1105658: Yarm Bridge over River Tees, Yarm (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1006763: Yarm Bridge, Egglescliffe (Grade II* listing)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Woodhouse, Robert (1991). The River Tees: A North Country River. Lavenham: Terence Dalton Limited. p. 63. ISBN 0861380916.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: County Durham, 1953; 1983 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09599-9page 383
- ↑ "Bridges over the Tees". Institute of Civil Engineers. https://myice.ice.org.uk/ICEDevelopmentWebPortal/media/Documents/Regions/UK%20Regions/Tees-Bridges-Leaflet-online.pdf.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Rennison, R. W. (2019). "The Great Inundation of 1771 and the Rebuilding of the North-East's Bridges". Archaeologia Aeliana 29: 269291. doi:10.5284/1061067. https://web-cdn.org/s/124/file/the-great-inundation.pdf. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ↑ Rennison, R. W. (1981). "3. County Durham and Cleveland". Civil Engineering Heritage Northern England. the Institution of Civil Engineers. pp. 70-101. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/cehne.25189.0003.
| Bridges and crossings on the River Tees | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fishlocks Bridge | Over Dinsdale Bridge | Yarm Viaduct | Yarm Bridge | Preston Pipe Bridge | Jubilee Bridge | Surtees Bridge |