Corbridge Roman Bridge

The remains of the Roman Bridge at Corbridge form part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site and while seemingly unspectacular today, in their day they were once part of the largest stone bridge known in Roman Britain and are amongst the most important bridge remains in the northern part of the Roman Empire.

The remains that you can see today formed part of the road ramp that led up to the bridge which took Dere Street across the River Tyne and up towards the Roman Village and a crossroads with Stanegate. Over 300 blocks of stone were actually excavated from the river bank in 2004 after the threat of erosion put them at risk of being lost. They were then reassembled in their current location.

It is thought that the bridge consisted of 11 stone arches and stood around 9m above the River Tyne, the ramp approached at 90 degrees to the bridge from the east allowing vehicles to access it at a gentle gradient. The ramp was built using the Roman technique of “Opus Quadratum” which saw the stone blocks fitted together with very tight joints and no mortar, and the details of the parapet are very similar to the one found at Chesters nearby, suggesting they were built around the same time, possibly by the same stone masons.

An excavation was first carried out on the remains of the bridge in 1906 where they discovered a series of bridge abutment and pier foundations. From their dimensions and locations they estimated that the bridge would have been around 154 yards in length (48m) and wide enough to carry a 20ft road (6m). As an example of Roman engineering and construction skills the bridge is of international importance.