The first Wearmouth Bridge was the longest single span cast iron bridge in the
world and was one of the wonders of the industrial age. The bridge was to have
a nominal span of 240 feet and to build an iron bridge of this size required a
great deal of faith from it's sponsor, Roland Burdon M.P. To help, Mr Burdon
engaged a local schoolmaster turned engineer, Thomas Wilson. Work was started
on the foundations of the bridge and in September 1793 the foundation stone
ceremony was held.
The bridge took almost three years to build, and the structure cost a total of
about £28,000. The bridge was completed and opened to traffic on 9th August
1796, presided over by Prince William of Gloucester and attended by 80,000
people.
The bridge was a toll bridge for traffic and pedestrians, tolls for
pedestrians were abolished in 1846. The new bridge gave direct access between
Monkwearmouth and Bishopwearmouth, previous access had only been by ferry. The
shape and trade of Sunderland would be changed forever.
The bridge survived until 1857, when consultant engineer Robert Stephenson did
a major reconstruction. The bridge was reopened in March 1859. The
inconvenient hump in the middle of the bridge which had been such a feature of
it, had been almost levelled in the reconstruction. In 1885 the toll on the
bridge was totally abolished.
That bridge survived until 1927, when the present one was built around the old
one and reopened in 1929.
Wearmouth Bridge
This was the first single span steel bridge across the River Wear Sunderland. Built in 1796 it survived until 1857.
