Bridge of Sighs (Cambridge)
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The Bridge of Sighs in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
is a stone
covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
at
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...
. It was built in 1831 and crosses the
River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...
between the college's Third Court and New Court. The architect was
Henry Hutchinson Henry Hutchinson (16 October 1800 – 22 November 1831) was an English architect who partnered with Thomas Rickman in December 1821 to form the Rickman and Hutchinson architecture practice, in which he stayed until his death in 1831. Hutchinson ...
. It is named after the
Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...
in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, although they have little architecturally in common beyond the fact that they are both covered bridges with arched bases. The bridge, a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, is a Cambridge attraction and
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
is said to have loved it more than any other spot in the city.


History

In the early 19th century, St John's College added accommodation on the west side of the River Cam, an area known as the Backs, with the construction of
New Court New Court (also known as The Rothschild Headquarters) is a collection of proximate buildings in London having served as the global headquarters of the Rothschild investment bank since 1809. The current building is the fourth incarnation of the R ...
. The new buildings and the bridge linking them with the original college buildings were designed in 1827 by
Henry Hutchinson Henry Hutchinson (16 October 1800 – 22 November 1831) was an English architect who partnered with Thomas Rickman in December 1821 to form the Rickman and Hutchinson architecture practice, in which he stayed until his death in 1831. Hutchinson ...
in the fashionable
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style. Construction was completed in 1831, shortly before his death. On two occasions, students have pulled the prank of dangling a car under the bridge. In the first incident (in June 1963), a 1928
Austin 7 The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1923 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad. ...
was punted down the river using four punts that had been lashed together, then hoisted up under the bridge using ropes. The second incident (in 1968) a
Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...
or
Reliant Regal The Reliant Regal is a small three-wheeled car and van that was manufactured from 1952 to 1973 by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England, replacing the earlier Reliant Regent three-wheeled cyclecar van which had its origins in a desig ...
three-wheeler car was dangled under the bridge. In neither case was the bridge damaged. The bridge was apparently a favourite spot of former
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
an Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
, having photos taken there in 1947 when he was a student, upon Lee Hsien Loong's graduation in 1974 and 2000. The bridge was a filming location for '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' in 2007 and ''The Theory of Everything'' in 2014. The bridge can also be seen in the music video for "High Hopes" by
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
.


See also

*
Bridge of Sighs, Oxford Hertford Bridge, often called the Bridge of Sighs, is a skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane in Oxford, England. Its distinctive design makes it a city landmark. Misnomer and myth The bridge is often referred to ...
*
List of bridges in Cambridge The following is a list and brief history of the bridges in Cambridge, England, principally those over the River Cam of which there are 25, soon to be 26. The River Cam enters Cambridge from the south west of the city and heads north past many ...


References


External links


Information at cambridge2000.com
* St John's College, Cambridge Bridges in Cambridge Bridges completed in 1831 Covered bridges in England Bridges across the River Cam Pedestrian bridges in England Buildings and structures of the University of Cambridge
Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...
Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...
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