Palatine Bridge is a wrought-iron road bridge in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. Opened in 1864 and rebuilt in 1911, it crosses the

River Irwell The River Irwell ( ) is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup and flows southwards for to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the bound ...

between

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

History

Background

A bridge between Chapel Street in Salford and Hunts Bank in Manchester was first proposed in 1858, as a means of improving road links between Salford and

Manchester Victoria station Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England, is a combined mainline railway station and Manchester Metrolink, Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the Manchester city centre, city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathe ...

, each separated by the

. When the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company before the Railways Act 1921, 1923 Grouping. It was Incorporation (business)#Incorporation in the United Kingdom, incorpo ...

applied to Parliament to build a railway link between Salford (New Bailey Street) station and Victoria,

Salford Corporation Salford was, from 1844 to 1974, a local government district in the county of Lancashire in the northwest of England, covering the city of Salford. It was granted city status in 1926. History Free Borough and Police Commissioners In about 123 ...

opposed the bill, citing the township's poor access to Victoria Station. The railway company was forced by parliamentary committee to compensate the Corporation to the tune of £25,000, to be used to improve the aforementioned transport links.

Construction and design

The land required on Chapel Street for the Salford approach to the proposed bridge was donated by Samuel Brooks, who as part of the deal insisted that a abutment was built on the Salford bank of the river, to improve the rateable value of nearby properties. Designed by W. Radford, Palatine Bridge comprises a single span ( on the south side, on the north side), built from twelve wrought-iron box girders attached to stone abutments. Fixed to these girders, wrought-iron road joints support iron covering plates, which themselves support the pavements and road surface, the latter formed from granite cubes. The gradient 1 in 30. The bridge parapets are cast iron and terminate in stone blocks. W. and J. Galloway supplied the ironwork, while A. Pilling supplied the road surface and masonry. The total cost was about £20,000. Toll-free, the bridge was opened on 24 August 1864 by the ex-mayor of Salford, James Worrall.

Repairs

By 1908 the bridge's condition had deteriorated to a point where the ends of some of its corroded girders could be "turned up like bits of tin." There was some argument as to who should pay for the bridge to be repaired; a clause in the original Act requires that Salford maintain the structure in perpetuity, and Manchester therefore refused to contribute any funds. A bill sent to Parliament by Salford, to enable it to undertake the work required, contains a clause forcing Manchester to contribute half the cost, but this was struck out by a parliamentary committee. Repairs and strengthening work were made in 1911, by Heenan and Froude of

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

References

;Notes {{Salford B&S Bridges in Greater Manchester Buildings and structures in Manchester Buildings and structures in Salford Bridges across the River Irwell

History

Background

Construction and design

Repairs

See also

References