Honour for iconic symbol of the North
TYNE BRIDGE PROMOTED TO TOP BAND OF HISTORIC STRUCTURES IN COUNTRY
A LANDMARK which has come to symbolise the North East worldwide has been promoted into the select band of top historical structures in the country.
The Tyne Bridge has been upgraded to Grade II-star listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England; it now joins Newcastle Civic Centre in the same listing category.
Celebrated Newcastle-based photographer John Kippin captured the bridge for Historic England’s Spirit of the North exhibition at Bessie Surtees House on the Quayside which runs until September 9, as part of the Great Exhibition of the North’s ‘Inspired by’ programme.
Veronica Fiorato, Historic England’s listing team leader in the North said: “The Tyne Bridge has long been a symbol of Tyneside and a defining landmark of the North East.
“Its dramatic design and construction make it a real source of pride for Geordies as well as a representation of the North East’s steely attitude. It fully deserves to be among the 5.8% of structures which are Grade II-star listed.”
John Kippin said he chose to photograph the bridge “because it is a symbol of modernity in the 20th Century, with its wonderful, visible engineering construction and also the contrast between its four pillars and its elegant curved parabola. It is the gateway to what feels like the true North”.
Construction began on the bridge 93 years ago this month, in August 1925, by Dorman, Long & Co Ltd, the same contractors working on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Tyne Bridge is a scaled down version of a slightly earlier, similar design for Sydney Harbour.
It needed to be a clever design because the River Tyne had to be clear and accessible, without being obstructed by piers.
Authorities also decided that the river should remain open throughout the building process, so the striking single span steel arch had to be dramatically manoeuvred into place from each side of the river, using cables, cradles and cranes, rather than by lifting materials from floating barges.
This is thought to be the first time such an innovative building method was used in Britain and paved the way for the construction of Sydney Harbour Bridge, completed four years after the Tyne Bridge.
The bridge was built by largely unemployed shipyard workers using the same techniques to build ships. Construction workers scaled the heights without safety equipment, lashing ladders together to reach the top, or often simply shimmying up the columns.
Tragically, Nathanial Collins, a scaffolder from South Shields, lost his life during the construction process, only a few days before the bridge was completed in February, 1928.
At the time of its completion, it was the largest single span bridge in Britain and has since become a defining symbol of the region.