The Albert Bridge is a road bridge that spans the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, near

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

. Opened in 1871, the bridge connects

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

in the city centre with Crown Street on the city’s south side. It is

category A listed Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * Category ( ...

structure, named in honor of

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's consort,

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

Previous bridges

The current Albert Bridge is the fifth bridge constructed at this site in Glasgow. The first bridge, known as Hutcheson Bridge, was built in 1794 but was destroyed by flooding in 1795. The second bridge, built in 1803, was a timber footbridge. The third bridge, which replaced the second in 1834, was a masonry arch bridge designed by

Robert Stevenson Robert, Rob, or Bob Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Scottish writer ("Treasure Island"), grandson of lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenso ...

(grandfather of the author

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

). Stevenson's bridge was demolished in 1868, and a temporary wooden bridge was erected in its place. This temporary structure was replaced by the current Albert Bridge in 1871.

Construction

Construction of the Albert Bridge was managed by a group of trustees, who examined the condition of the previous bridge and decided it should be completely removed, and replaced with one that would be more elegant and convenient. Initially, they set a budget of £39,000 and commissioned the Glasgow firm Bell & Miller Engineers to design the bridge. However, the initial design proved too expensive, with the lowest bid from builders being £54,000. Bell & Miller revised their design, leading to a bid of £48,000 from

Hanna, Donald & Wilson Hanna, Donald and Wilson were a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding firm which flourished in the Victorian era. Reid & Hanna The general engineering firm of Reid & Hanna was founded in 1816 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Scotland. Pais ...

of Paisley, Scotland, which was accepted. The Albert Bridge is supported by concrete piers and abutments filled with cast iron caissons, sunk about 86 ft below water level. The designers rejected traditional masonry was rejected in favour of rivetted wrought iron elliptical arches. The largest of the arches spans 114 ft. The arch ribs are adorned with cast iron spandrels decorated with the Royal coat of arms,

, and the coats of arms of various corporate bodies. Stone pillars supporting the parapet are decorated with medallions of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, crafted by Scottish sculptor

George Edwin Ewing George Edwin Ewing (8 July 1828 – 26 April 1884) was a Scottish sculptor. He was born in Birmingham, the son of sculptor James Ewing and the brother of sculptor James Alexander Ewing. He grew up in Edinburgh and Glasgow and learned his trade i ...

. The bridge carries a two-way, two-lane highway (the eastern branch of the A8 Highway) across the River Clyde and is supplemented by the Victoria Bridge, which is on the other side of the nearby railway bridge, and carries a one-way, northbound road across the river. A £3.4 million refurbishment programme was launched in 2015, and given Royal recognition by a visit from the

Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Norman Conquest, Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex ( ...

on 13 October 2016.

References

Notes

{{coord, 55.8526, -4.2473, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bridges completed in 1871 Bridges in Glasgow Bridges across the River Clyde Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Gorbals Glasgow Green 1871 establishments in Scotland