Our magnificent seven
IF the world is said to have its seven wonders, the River Tyne has its seven bridges. Yes, there are more bridges upriver, but we’re concentrating on the ones linking Newcastle and Gateshead.
Each one has its own unique character, engineering and history, yet all complement each other.
Look up and down the Tyne here, and its one of the most visually stunning locations in Britain.
We’ve raided our archives for photos of our beloved bridges.
Some are more famous and iconic than others, of course, and the daddy of them all is the Tyne Bridge.
Today, a world-famous symbol of our region, it celebrates its 90th anniversary in October this year.
It wasn’t the first ‘Tyne Bridge’. Its three predecessors – the Roman, Medieval and Georgian versions – stood where the Swing Bridge is today.
Located on the oldest and original crossing point between Newcastle and Gateshead, the hydraulic Swing Bridge – with its ingenious engineering – opened in 1876, allowing large ships to sail upriver for the first time, enabling them to reach Armstrong’s giant Elswick works and Dunston Staiths as Tyneside industry boomed.
Towering above is the High Level Bridge.
Built to a Robert Stephenson design between 1847 and 1849, the bridge was opened to rail traffic, without ceremony, on August 15, 1849.
It was officially opened on September 27, 1849 by Queen Victoria – and entered ordinary use on February 4, 1850.
It was built – and opened – more or less in tandem with Newcastle Central Station, for the first time enabling passengers and goods to travel
King Edward VII Bridge. Tens of thousands of Tynesiders braved heavy rain to welcome the popular monarch to the city in 1906.
Another royal, Princess Diana, opened the new Redeugh Bridge in 1983. The road bridge was the third to bear that name. The first opened in 1871, and the second – which many of us will remember – in 1907.
The sixth of our bridges across the Tyne was built specifically to carry the new Metro line between Newcastle and Gateshead. The QEII Bridge was officially named by Her Majesty the Queen on November 6, 1981, as part of the official Royal opening of the Metro system.
And finally, the new kid on the block – the Millennium Bridge.
Lowered into place in 2000, opened to the public in 2001, and officially opened by the Queen in 2002, the bridge – which can tilt to let river traffic through – is an apt metaphor for the rejuvenation of Tyneside in the 21st century.