Ouse Bridge (1821)
The original Roman bridge over the Ouse was eventually replaced by a wooden bridge built further downstream by the Vikings. In 1154, it collapsed under the weight of a crowd which had gathered to greet St William of York on his return from exile. It was replaced by a stone bridge, but part of this was swept away by floods in the winter of 1564-5. The repaired bridge of 1565 had a new central arch spanning 81ft, and was described by Defoe as "...near 70 foot [21 m] in diameter; it is, without exception, the greatest in England, some say it's as large as the Rialto at Venice," This bridge was dismantled between 1810 and 1818 in order to make way for the New Ouse Bridge, designed by Peter Atkinson the younger, completed in 1821.
An engraving of the Tudor-built bridge
Hi Clare
ReplyDeleteVery interesting .. makes me think that pointed arches seem to have been transcended on bridge design, if we were to compare the top and bottom images you post here. Most famous pointed arch bridge I can think would have to be that in Mostar (http://www.uhd.edu/academic/colleges/sciences/engineeringtech/sad/sad_bridge_of_the_month.htm). This bridge was destroyed during the war of 1993 (severing the Moslem and Christian communities on either side) but then reconstructed in 2004.
Reminds too that what we look at as 'the thing itself' in the cityscape is often a reconstruction or substitution.
How might you follow this up? A work on the bridge itself? On another point, it would be good to provide referencing where information is sourced from elsewhere, even Wikipedia. I know I've been guilty of that in the past, but please keep the habit of proper referencing.
Cheers
Roddy
i think its quite impressive, that this bridge has been built twice, have you found out why the top bit is peaked yet?
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