Trent_Bridge,_Gainsborough
Trent Bridge, Gainsborough
Road bridge crossing of the River Trent at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Trent Bridge, Gainsborough is a road bridge crossing of the River Trent at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.
Trent Bridge, Gainsborough | |
|---|---|
Trent Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 53.3922°N 0.7766°W / 53.3922; -0.7766 |
| Carries | A631 |
| Crosses | River Trent |
| Heritage status | Grade II listed structure |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 328 feet (100 m) |
| Width | 26 feet (8 m) |
| Longest span | 70 feet (21 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1791 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | until 1932 |
| Location | |
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The bridge was built by the civil engineer, William Weston between 1787 and 1791.[1] It is a handsome and substantial three span bridge in ashlar masonry. The overall width was 26 ft 3in, although cantilevered walkways have been added subsequently.
The bridge is Weston's only known work in Britain as he left in 1792 from Falmouth for the United States of America for the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company as canal engineer and superintendent.[2]
When completed it was the only bridge across the River Trent downstream of Newark-on-Trent.
In 1932 a white metal medallion was issued to celebrate the freeing of the toll bridge. The toll bridge was purchased 31 October 1927 for £130,000 and freed from toll on 31 March 1932.
A toll was payable from opening until 1932. The bridge was a commercial success from the start.[3]
The bridge carries the A631 road
| Next road upstream | River Trent | Next road downstream |
| Dunham Bridge ( A57 ) |
Trent Bridge, Gainsborough Grid reference SK814890 |
 M180 motorway |
- biographical dictionary of civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland. A. W. Skempton. 2002
- Kirby, Richard Shelton. "William Weston and his contribution to early American engineering." Transactions of the Newcomen Society 16.1 (1935): 111-127.
- Civil engineering heritage: Eastern and central England. E. A. Labrum