Corbridge Bridge

We all know about the famous Tyne Bridges of Newcastle City Centre but did you know there is a bridge across the River Tyne that is older than all of them?

The bridge over the River Tyne at Corbridge, or Corbridge Bridge to give it its slightly shorter name, is of stone construction and was built in 1674. It had six arches and was probably built to incorporate the earlier medieval bridge, which in turn was built in 1235 to replace a ford across the river. The crossing at Corbridge was the only one between Newcastle and Carlisle so as you can imagine, it was essential to transportation and trade across the north.

The very first medieval bridge was built by Simon de Divelston in 1235 but the first record of it doesn't appear until 1256. In order to keep it well maintained and in working order, a toll placed on iron goods crossing it to pay for its upkeep.

In 1771 there was a devastating flood that swept away all of the bridges along the River Tyne, except for Corbridge Bridge, which somehow survived. Some accounts said the water was so high that travellers were able to lean over the parapet to wash their hands in the Tyne! Following this flood an extra arch, the seventh, was added to help ensure that should there be another flood the bridge would still reach the bank safely. The seven spans are actually different widths, and vary from 13m wide to 20m wide, with the overall length of the bridge being 146m. When first built it was 3.6m wide but was widened to 4.6m in 1881. It is still only wide enough to take traffic in one direction at a time.

The bridge is a Grade I listed structure and if you look closely enough you can still see some of the 17th century masons marks on the stonework. Each mason had their own symbol and they carved them into the stones to ensure that they got paid for their work.