Whitby Swing Bridge

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Coordinates: 54°29′13″N 0°36′46″W / 54.486914°N 0.612701°W / 54.486914; -0.612701
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Whitby Swing Bridge
Whitby Swing Bridge
Coordinates54°29′13″N 0°36′46″W / 54.486914°N 0.612701°W / 54.486914; -0.612701
CrossesRiver Esk, North Yorkshire
Characteristics
Designswing bridge
Longest span75 ft
Load limit7.5 tons[1]
History
DesignerJ Mitchell Moncrieff
Engineering design byHeenan & Froude[2]
Construction start1908
Construction cost£22,582 (equivalent to £2,504,289 as of 2021),[3]
Opened1909
Location
Map

Whitby Swing Bridge is a pedestrian and road bridge over the River Esk in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England.

History

The

King Edward III in 1351 allowed the collection of tolls for the maintenance of a bridge. By the mid 1550s the tolls averaged around £6 per annum (equivalent to £2,421 as of 2021).[3][4]

In 1629 an agreement was made by the justices in the North Riding to replace a wooden bridge with one which included moving parts. This was later replaced by a drawbridge, built in 1766 at a cost of £3,000 (equivalent to £444,000 in 2021), and later in 1835, the first swing bridge was opened designed by Francis Pickernell.[5][6]

Current bridge

Bridge during an opening

By the early 20th century the limited 45-foot (14 m) clearance of the 1835 bridge was restricting the size of vessels which could be built upstream of the bridge. A replacement swing bridge was commissioned by

Whitby Urban District Council. It was designed by J. Mitchell Moncrieff,[2][7] later President of the Institution of Structural Engineers. As work progressed on the west side of the river bank to set a pivot for the bridge to swing, a seam of coal 10 inches (250 mm) thick was struck at 26 feet (7.9 m) below the water level. The foundations had to be sunk to a depth of 32 feet (9.8 m) below the low water mark for a secure foundation.[8]

It was opened in July 1909 by Mabel Theresa Duncombe, the daughter of the Viscount of Helmsley and the wife of local MP, Sir Gervase Beckett. The bridge consists of two leaves moved independently by electric motors.[9]

The bridge originally carried the A171 road. To avoid congestion in the town centre, the road was diverted to a high level bridge over the Esk Valley built in 1980.

The bridge is not wide enough for vehicles to pass, so vehicular access to the bridge is controlled by traffic lights. The bridge is opened to shipping either side of high tide, but is quickly closed again to allow for traffic movement.

Until 2011 the bridge had a weight limit of 17 tons. This was reduced to 7.5 tons in 2011 by

North Yorkshire County Council.[1]

In 2023 it was announced that the local council would be closing the bridge to traffic, with the exception of buses, during peak times in spring and summer. This was said to be to "address safety concerns around overcrowding".[10]


Next bridge upstream Esk Next bridge downstream
A171 road bridge Whitby Swing Bridge none

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to River Esk swing bridge, Whitby.
  1. ^ a b "Lower weight limit confirmed on Whitby swing bridge". North Yorkshire County Council. 18 May 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b The Electrical review: Volume 69. 1911
  3. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. ^ History and topography of the city of York: and the North riding. T. Whellan and Co. 1859
  5. OCLC 6793956
    .
  6. OCLC 221940476
    .
  7. ^ Freeman, John. "Whitby Swing Bridge - Celebrating 100 Years of Whitby's Swing Bridge". Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  8. OCLC 749266990
    .
  9. ^ "Swing Bridge". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Whitby swing bridge to close to traffic in spring and summer". BBC News. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
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