Victoria Bridge is a

category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in th ...

road bridge spanning the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, Scotland. Victoria Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge in Glasgow, lying at the foot of Stockwell Street in the city centre.

History

Victoria Bridge is built on the site of the first recorded bridge over the Clyde; a timber bridge believed to exist in 1285 and described as "Glaskow bryg, that byggt was of tre" in Henry the Minstrel's epic poem on Sir William Wallace. In 1345 Bishop William Rae replaced the timber bridge with the Bishop's Bridge, located on the same site. Bishop's Bridge was originally wide, but was widened by in 1777. By 1851 Glasgow's population had risen to 329,000 having doubled in the previous 25 years and the old bridge couldn't cope with current demands, and needed to be replaced.

Construction

A new masonry arch bridge was designed by James Walker and constructed by William Scott, although some references name William York, Esquire as the builder. The bridge has five segmental arches which vary in span from 20.4 meters to the widest in the center, which measures 24.4 m wide. The construction replaced Bishop's bridge, with foundations 6 meters below those of the old bridge, and timber piles which were steam-driven a further 4 meters below that. Named after

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 ...

, when the bridge opened in 1854, Glasgow had one of the two widest bridges in Britain – London's widest at that time was only . The bridge is one way city-bound with two lanes. However, it also has a contraflow Bus, Cycle and Taxi lane. It is complemented by the Albert Bridge on the other side of the railway bridge, which is also two-way. As a numbered route, the bridge forms one arm of the A8, which then passes through the Bridgegate north of the river and meets the other arm from Albert Bridge at

Saltmarket The Saltmarket is a thoroughfare in the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is a southward continuation of the High Street, running south from Glasgow Cross to the junction with Clyde Street and Crown Street by the River Clyde. It runs past the High Co ...

. The A814 (Clyde Street) begins at Saltmarket going west only, but becomes two-way after passing the north end of Victoria Bridge. Most traffic crossing the river here either feeds west onto the A814 or carries on north-easterly on the Bridgegate, as the road straight on (Stockwell Street) soon becomes a bus gate, with private vehicles only able to access a few local premises and car parks. South of the bridge, the designation becomes the A730 (Gorbals Street) which runs through the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

district and on to

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

(as mentioned above, it is a bus lane only at this point, with other southbound traffic using the nearby A728 Laurieston Road).

References

{{coord, 55.8538, -4.2512, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges completed in 1854 Bridges in Glasgow Bridges across the River Clyde 1854 establishments in Scotland Gorbals