North Bridge is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

iron and stone bridge at

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, in northern England. It crosses the valley of the River Hebble, connecting the town to roads to

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

and

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. Replacing an earlier six arch stone bridge, it was raised to allow the subsequent construction of the Halifax and Ovenden Joint Railway beneath it, including

North Bridge railway station North Bridge railway station, also known as Halifax North Bridge, served on the Halifax and Ovenden Junction Railway in West Yorkshire, England. The North bridge itself had to be rebuilt higher by the L&YR The Lancashire and Yorkshire Rail ...

. Opened in 1871 amid chaotic crowd scenes it carried increasingly heavy traffic until it was by-passed by the Burdock Way in 1973. It remains in use for local traffic. On the south end of the structure was a theatre, adjoining the bridge, called the Grand Theatre.

Earlier bridges

The earliest record of a wooden bridge over the River Hebble is in 1277. A stone bridge recorded in 1719 collapsed on

Rogation Day Rogation days are days of prayer and fasting in Western Christianity. They are observed with processions and the Litany of the Saints. The so-called ''major'' rogation is held on 25 April; the ''minor'' rogations are held on Monday to Wednesday ...

in April 1770 during a

beating the bounds Beating the bounds or perambulating the bounds is an ancient custom still observed in parts of England, Wales, and the New England region of the United States, which involves swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared mental map o ...

ceremony causing many injuries. Matthew Oates of

Northowram Northowram ( ) is a village lying north-east of the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the north side of Shibden valley. Southowram stands on the southern side of the valley. The villa ...

began work on a new bridge in 1772, using stone from quarries in Crib Lane. This long six-arch bridge, wide and above the river, which carried the turnpike road was opened in 1774. There was a toll-booth at the north end. Iron palisades were fitted after a Mr Asquith of

Hipperholme Hipperholme is a village in West Yorkshire, England, located between the towns of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax and Brighouse in the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale. The population of this ward at ...

was pushed from the bridge and killed by an unknown attacker in 1819. Part of this bridge collapsed because of flash flooding on 23 July 1855. It was demolished in 1870 to make way for the new bridge.

Design and construction

North Bridge was designed in

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style by brothers John and James Fraser of Leeds. John had considerable experience of railway bridge design. Two spans of semi-elliptical arch ribs are supported by stone piers with ecclesiastical style buttresses, carrying a wide roadway. There are lancets in the

spandrels A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...

. The parapets are richly decorated with quatre-foil piercings with central

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

es and tri-foil pattern railings above with a

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

top rail. The mainly

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

parapet ribs have a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

central section of . The central pier stands high and the bridge was built higher than its predecessor so that the Halifax and Ovenden Joint Railway could pass underneath the northern end. North Bridge Station was just east of the bridge, extending under it. A drinking fountain, named for James Oates who worked on the bridge, is set into the south west turret of the bridge. The cost of the bridge was £21,000 or 17

shillings The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

and six

pence A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is t ...

per square foot of roadway, claimed to be the cheapest bridge in England at the time.

Opening ceremony

The bridge was opened on 25 October 1871 amid scenes of confusion as local people, given a half-day holiday, swarmed over the bridge well in advance of the official opening by the mayor. The mayor and corporation and the borough's MP, together with the Halifax Artillery and Rifle Volunteers and a detachment of the 2nd West Yorkshire Yeomanry, formed a procession at the town hall at about 3 pm. The police had cleared some space at the southern end of the bridge, but by the time an advance party of yeomanry reached the bridge the crowds had reoccupied it. Twenty

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

s were drawn up across the southern entrance of the bridge to hold the crowds back. A ceremony was then held which included the town's MP Sir James Stansfeld,

Lord Frederick Cavendish Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish (30 November 1836 – 6 May 1882) was an English Liberal politician and ''protégé'' of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. Cavendish was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in May 1882 but was ...

, Colonel Akroyd, the mayors of Bradford,

and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, the Master Cutler of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, the

Town Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

of Leeds and the bridge engineers. This concluded with an artillery salute.

Trams

Starting in 1898 tram lines began to be extended from Halifax along the

Calder Valley Calder may refer to: People * Calder (surname) * Clan Calder, a Highland Scottish clan Places * Calder, Tasmania, Australia, a locality * Calder, Edmonton, a neighbourhood in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada * Calder, Saskatchewan, Canada ...

including lines running over the bridge. The steep terrain of the area was not ideal for trams and there were several fatal accidents. In 1906, an eight-ton double decker tram ran out of control down New Bank, Halifax, and overturned on North Bridge, killing two people and injuring 11 others.

Modern times

A weight restriction of seven tons was applied to the bridge in 1968, until strengthening work had been completed. Since Burdock Way, the modern flyover system, was opened in 1973 to take the A58 and A629 traffic over the River Hebble North Bridge remains in use for local traffic.

References

External links

{{commons category, North Bridge, Halifax
A print of the former North Bridge, pre-1864, seen from Haley Hill, drawn by J R Smith
retrieved 13 January 2010 Bridges in West Yorkshire Bridges completed in 1871 Transport in Halifax, West Yorkshire Former toll bridges in England Cast-iron arch bridges in England Buildings and structures in Halifax, West Yorkshire