Hexham Old Bridge was an 18th-century stone bridge across the River Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

 at Hexham

Hexham

Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and was located about 1 miles (2 km) upstream of the present Hexham Bridge

Hexham Bridge

Hexham Bridge is a road bridge in Northumberland, England linking Hexham with the North Tyne valley. It lies north of the town of Hexham and is the main access to the A69 bypass.- History :...

.

History

The Tyne was crossed by two ferries called the east (at the location of the present bridge) and the west boats (Warden Bridge). As a result of persistent agitation a bridge was started in 1767 and completed in 1770. A map of 1769 by W. Armstrong shows the bridge to the west of Hexham close by the present Old Bridge End farm. It was built by a Mr. Gait and consisted of seven arches. Less than a year later it was swept away in the great Tyne flood of 1771. In that flood eight bridges shared the fate of Hexham. In 1774 a new attempt was made fifty yards to the west by Mr. Wooler, an engineer who had been working on the new Newcastle bridge. Piles were sunk to carry the piers but work was abandoned on discovering that the "soil beneath the gravel was a quicksand with no more resistance than chaff".

The later bridges were built downstream at Hexham Bridge

Hexham Bridge

Hexham Bridge is a road bridge in Northumberland, England linking Hexham with the North Tyne valley. It lies north of the town of Hexham and is the main access to the A69 bypass.- History :...

. The authorities approached Smeaton whose name as an engineer was famous. John Errington of Beaufront was given the contract for the sum of £5,700 and work started in 1777. Although the half completed piers were washed away the following year work continued and the new bridge was opened to traffic in 1780 [others give 1781]. However on March 10, 1782 there was a heavy fall of snow, followed by a violent hurricane. The valleys of the north and south Tyne were inundated and the nine arches were completely overturned. They are still visible and act as a sort of weir. Robert Mylne, a famous architect and engineer, was called in to report on the feasibility of rebuilding Smeaton's bridge. He was eventually given the contract to build a fourth bridge and the work was completed in 1793. Today that handsome, bridge still stands as a monument to his genius.

Nothing remains today of Hexham Old Bridge but the name continues as the name of the adjacent farm: Old Bridge End .

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