The Day The City Split In Two / A River Full Of Stories
Painted Bridges - Mark Rodgers Mark is a traditional painter. Traditional in the sense that he paints 'en plein air' or in situ, outdoors, with easel, paint and brushes, open to the elements, stuck in the same place for hours and vulnerable to the interest and attention of passers by. Here Mark entertainingly recollects painting … Continue reading Mark Rodgers – Painted Bridges
The Limmer and Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company, Sutton Road and Bridge c1965 This remarkable set of photographs show road surface and bridge repairs and views from the bridge taken by an interested resident, circa 1965. The asphalt is being laid by the Limmer and Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company, who have a long history. The pitch … Continue reading Sutton Road – Road and Bridge Repairs 1965
Millennium Bridge by Qualter Hall Qualter Hall & Company were the lead MEICA engineering contractor for Scale Lane and Millennium Bridges and designed, built and installed the upgraded replacement drive mechanisms for Hull’s Tidal Barrier between 2008 and 2010. Thanks to George and Lisa at Qualter Hall, who have contributed the plans and technical drawings … Continue reading 43 Qualter Hall – Millennium Bridge
We've now posted all 42 of the 'Hull's River Bridges' chapters we had planned for this year's Heritage Open Days festival. Thank you to all our contributors, everyone who has followed the project throughout Heritage Open Days and beyond and to Charlotte and the Heritage Open Days team and Christine & John Netherwood (HODs in … Continue reading Thank you!
Hull's River Bridges: The Impounding of the River Hull - Lutyens & Abercrombie A Plan for the City and County of Kingston Upon Hull "The River Hull is just as important as a "highway" for commerce as the roads and railways are highways serving the public, and as such the planner is concerned with its … Continue reading 42 The Future – in 1945
Hull's River Bridges: The Broken Orchestra The Broken Orchestra is a UK-based creative collective, founded by musicians and producers Pat Dooner and Carl Conway-Davis in Hull around 2010. Originally an experimental studio project, it has evolved into a multidisciplinary ensemble creating ambient soundscapes, soundtracks, audio walking tours, sci-fi dramas, and live performances. Fair Winds and … Continue reading 39 The Broken Orchestra
Hull South Bridge Company 1886 South Bridge is somewhat of an enigma. It crossed the river roughly where the tidal barrier is, as can be traced through Victoria Dock's South Bridge Road to link the east with the pier and ferries and markets of the west. It was built for the passage of pedestrians, horse … Continue reading 20 South Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Engines and Insects - Richard Duffy-Howard Engines and Insects started life with the hydraulics in the spine of Scale Bridge in 2017. The idea is not new. The premise follows the famous 20th century fashion photographer Horst P Horst. Away from the high glamour and sensual sophistication of taking photographs for Vogue, Horst’s … Continue reading 25 Richard Duffy-Howard – Engines and Insects
Hull's River Bridges: Millennium Swing Bridge Millennium Bridge is a bicycle and pedestrian single leaf, fan arranged cable-stayed, bascule bridge. (Source: Structurae) It is situated just south of where the earlier South Bridge was located and joins the Victoria Dock estate in East Hull with Victoria Pier, Humber Street and the marina in the west. The … Continue reading 19 Millennium Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Nye Parry and Madi Boyd Playing the Bridge was an inventive collaboration which transformed Hull’s Scale Lane Bridge into an interactive musical instrument as part of Hull 2017 City of Culture. It was the idea of bridge architect Jonathan McDowell who recognised that like the Gamelan, the bridge can be played by striking the … Continue reading 33 Playing the Bridge – Part 2
Hull's River Bridges: Myton SWing Bridge 1980 Myton Bridge is a two-span single-pylon cable-stayed steel construction swing bridge designed by Freeman Fox and built by Redpath Dorman Long Ltd. It spans the River Hull at Castle Street carrying six lanes of traffic on the A63 and opened in December 1980. Its main span is 55 metres … Continue reading 18 Myton Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Jonathan McDowell - Scale Lane Bridge, Design & Construction Some memories of the genesis of the distinctive form of Scale Lane Bridge, which won McDowell+Benedetti and our team the competition for the new bridge back in 2005: "Having worked out that a ‘swing’ bridge would be the most economic type of opening bridge … Continue reading 31 Scale Lane Bridge Construction – Jonathan McDowell
Scale Lane Swing Bridge A good introduction to the latest of Hull's River Bridges, at Scale Lane Staithe, is from the City Council's Tourism page: "The first footbridge of its kind in the world to allow people to ride on it while it opens, the Scale Lane footbridge was officially opened by former Lord Mayor … Continue reading 17 Scale Lane Bridge
Pete Curry and George Parkes Pete Curry was the council’s Structures and Safety Manager and Bridge Engineer who co-ordinated and controlled the raising, closing and swinging of all the bridges for the original Open Bridges event in 2017. We asked Pete if he remembered the events captured from June 1977 by George Parkes in the … Continue reading 23 Drypool Bridge Crashes 1977
Hull's River Bridges: Drypool Bridge, The Engineer 1890 The original bridge linking west and east Hull at Drypool was also known as Salthouse Lane Bridge. The article below, along with the engravings, is the original report as it was published in the Engineer, in London, on the evening of Friday 3rd January 1890. The map of … Continue reading 16 Drypool Bridge – The Engineer 1890
Hull's River Bridges: Nye Parry and Madi Boyd Playing the Bridge was an artistic commission and performance devised by bridge architect Jonathan McDowell and composer Nye Parry who are both Gamelan players – and coordinated here by Hull Gamelan’s Laurence Rugg. Playing the Bridge was a collaboration which transformed Hull’s Scale Lane Bridge into an interactive musical instrument as … Continue reading 32 Playing the Bridge – Part 1
Hull's River Bridges: Old Drypool 1889 There are a number of photographs of the original Drypool bridge, along with wonderful plans and description in the Engineer from 1890. However the images taken by Frank Drasdo, in colour, in the late 1950s, below, are remarkable. Thanks to Dave Drasdo for permission to publish his Uncle Frank's photographs … Continue reading 15 Old Drypool
Hull's River Bridges: Peter Marshall – River Hull’s Bridges 1977 - 1988 We came across photographer Peter Marshall when starting the book A River Full of Stories and discovered, via his Cafe Royal publication The River Hull 1977 - 85, an unrivalled body of work that documents the changing landscape of Hull from the early 1970s … Continue reading 30 Peter Marshall – River Hull’s Bridges 1977 – 1988
Hull's River Bridges: Drypool Bridge Drypool bridge is a Scherzer-type rolling bascule bridge, constructed in 1961 to replace the earlier bridge from 1889. The first image below shows the plan for the new bridge as presented to Parliament for approval between 1951 and 1952. The plans have been restored from scans of the originals, and in … Continue reading 14 Drypool Bridge
HHull's River Bridges: Angus Young - My Favourite BRIDge There’s something about a river and its bridges which fascinates me. Perhaps it’s because I grew up in Gateshead and would gaze in awe at the trendy Five Bridges Hotel every time we passed it on the bus heading for Newcastle on the other side of the … Continue reading 40 Angus Young – North Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: The New North Bridge Monday 10th August, 1931 In 1926 Parliament gave the go-ahead for the construction of a new four track bridge to be built on the straight line of a new street from Charlotte Street to Witham. The new street was called George Street. George Street, Charlotte Street and North Bridge, … Continue reading 13 The New North Bridge – A Souvenir 1931
Hull's River Bridges: Between Bridges - Les Reid Les Reid runs Newark’s unique Heritage Barge ‘Leicester Trader’. It is the last Trent size cargo barge built to fit the old locks of the Trent Navigation Company. Saved from being scrapped in 2008 and renovated by Les and a group of local barge aficionados, the dumb barge … Continue reading 36 Les Reid – Between Bridges
North Bridge 1870 The old North Bridge was given a nice send off in the Souvenir Programme of the new North Bridge on 10th August 1931, it read: "The existing North Bridge over the River Hull is on the main artery of communication from West Hull to East Hull and Holderness. It is supplemented by … Continue reading 12 Old North Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Painting the Bridges in 1966 by Fred Leason “I was a painter for Hull Corporation for about six years or so, in the sixties. I painted anything. Parks was a good job, swings and roundabouts, the boats in East Park. I painted the girders in the roof of the indoor market. And the five … Continue reading 29 Fred Leason – Painting the Bridges 1966
Hull's River Bridges: The New North Bridge 1931 North Bridge is a Scherzer rolling bascule bridge, designed by City Engineer, T Thomas in 1927, built by the Widnes Foundry (1925) Ltd., with Sculcoates firm Sangwin contracted for the tramway. It opened on Monday 10th August 1931, for motor transport, trams and foot crossings. We've restored the … Continue reading 11 North Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Moments in Time - Music for a celebration... "I was commissioned by Lou and Richard Duffy-Howard to write a work for the Open Bridges event in 2017. The only requirement was its duration of 20 minutes and 17 seconds, reflecting the date and timing of the first performance. Its inception came whilst I … Continue reading 38 John Stead – Moments in Time
Hull's River Bridges: Andy Hazell - Hull Fast Film 1992 and Grosvenor Mill “A long time ago I bought a four storey linseed crushing mill on the River Hull, Grosvenor Mill. It was built in 1828 and is a ‘loosely organised pile of bricks’. Ships and barges used to bring chemicals and oils to the factories … Continue reading 27 Andy Hazell – Scott Street and Hull Fast Film
Hull's River Bridges: Scott Street Bridge The original Scott Street Bridge plans date from 1900 and show a beautiful attention to detail. The diagram showing access to the nose bolt locking mechanism by use of Simon D40 hydraulic platform with west cantilever raised through angle of 30° is circa 1983. The photographs below the plans show … Continue reading 10 Scott Street Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Sculcoates, The Engineer, April 1875 This article was published in the Engineer, in London on the evening of April 2nd 1875 and is reproduced here along with the two original engravings. The aerial photographs of the bridge, below the article, are from 1937 and 1947, and the map above is from 1891 and … Continue reading 9 Sculcoates Bridge – The Engineer 1875
Hull's River Bridges: Keith and Trevor - Lightermen Keith and Trevor were Lightermen. They both joined the lighterage in Hull in 1960 and operated dumb barges (lighters), that is a barge without an engine and with only a pole to steer it, taking dry cargoes from the docks to the mills and wharfs on the river … Continue reading 26 A Lighterman’s View – Keith Eastwood and Trevor Branton
Hull's River Bridges: Open Bridges The Day the City Split in Two We commisioned Humber Film Creative Community and Octovision Media to make the Open Bridges film. It was filmed by 16 film makers who captured each bridge movement and from the MV Syntan as she sailed from Beverley to Hull on the night of the … Continue reading 28 Humber Film – Open Bridges 2017
Hull's River Bridges: Sculcoates Bridge 1875 “In exercise of powers vested in them by the ‘Local Government Supplemental Act 1871 (No.4)’, the Board of Trade approve of the bridge which the Kingston-Upon-Hull Local Board of Health propose to construct across the River Hull, as shown by the plan and sections on this drawing and on the … Continue reading 8 Sculcoates Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Gary Saunt's Dreamscapes Gary Saunt is a son of Grimsby, where in his youth he worked in the family smoke house business. He spent some of his free time in amateur boxing, however, his abiding interest had always been drawing and painting and he started Art School in 1967. He subsequently went on … Continue reading 37 Gary Saunt – Dreamscapes
Hull's River Bridges: Wilmington SWing Bridge, 1853 This was the original wrought iron railway swing bridge, erected by Thomas Cabry in 1853, to carry the Victoria, or East Dock, Railway over the River Hull from Sculcoates in the west to Wilmington in the east, destined for the eastern docks in Hull (Engineering, 1908). Due to it … Continue reading 7 Old Wilmington Bridge 1853
Hull's River Bridges: Michael Pinsky - Symposium at Wilmington Bridge "Michael Pinsky is a British artist whose international projects challenge the status quo on climate change, urban design and societal wellbeing. He explores issues which shape and influence the use of our public realm to create ambitious and provocative installations in galleries and public spaces. Taking the combined roles of … Continue reading 35 Michael Pinsky – Symposium
Hull's River Bridges: Wilmington Railway Swing Bridge, 1907, Wincolmlee Hull City Records Office (TSJ 28) describes Wilmington as: “a swing railway bridge, now a footbridge, spanning the River Hull. Circa 1870 and 1905, for the North Eastern Railway. Converted and restored in 1991. Arch topped riveted wrought-iron girders form the span, which is carried on a … Continue reading 6 Wilmington Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Unravelling Banksy The Open Bridges exhibition opened inside Scale Lane Bridge and we welcomed 2000 visitors on Saturdays at the end of 2017 and early in 2018. As the exhibition was coming to a close a new street art work by Banksy titled “Draw The Raised Bridge!" appeared overnight on Scott Street … Continue reading 21 Banksy – Draw the Raised Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: The Hull and Barnsley Railway Swing Bridge The Hull and Barnsley Railway Swing Bridge was built in 1885 over the River Hull on Bankside. It is still in use, carrying freight to and from King George and Queen Elizabeth Docks. The bridge and its operating cabin are Grade II listed. The bridge can … Continue reading 5 Railway Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Jack Pell - Iron Bridges "These sculptures depict six of Hull’s cast-iron bridges, two of which are no longer in existence. The inspiration to make sculptures from the bridges came from sitting in the back of the car on the way to my Dad’s work (he worked as a printer in Wincolmlee), I … Continue reading 34 Jack Pell – Iron Bridges
Hull's River Bridges: Stoneferry Swing Bridge 1905 Stoneferry swing bridge was built by the Motherwell Bridge Company and opened in 1905 to replace the existing ferry. Lots of us can remember driving over this wonderful old swing bridge before it was replaced by the two Shadoof-type lifting bascule bridges in 1991. The plans show the original … Continue reading 4 Stoneferry Swing Bridge 1905
Hull's River Bridges: Stoneferry Bridge Stoneferry Bridge, like Ennerdale Link, is actually two bascule bridges, working independently and each carrying two lanes of traffic. Built between 1988 and completed on 23rd July 1991, they replaced the original swing bridge built in 1905. The website Structurae notes they are "twin Shadoof-type bascule bridges with 32 meter counterbalanced … Continue reading 3 Stoneferry Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: John Dean - Delivering Stoneferry and Other Stories We first met John during A River Full of Stories. His invitation to travel with him and shipmate Kevin on the George Dyson from Hull to York via Goole in january 2020 was a once in a lifetime experience which we'll never forget. John runs … Continue reading 24 John Dean – Delivering Stoneferry
Hull's River Bridges: Syd Young - Hull's Bridges from a Bicycle Syd Young is an artist and photographer. His most recent exhibition - Relics and Rails - at Goole Museum and Gallery and Nordic House in Hull, was a multi-media retrospective of over 40 years' work. The photographs below show how he's captured the beauty of … Continue reading 41 Syd Young – Hull’s Bridges from a Bicycle
Hull's River Bridges: Sutton Road Bridge 1937 Sutton Road Bridge is a Scherzer type rolling bascule bridge, built by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company and opened on 8 July 1937, to complete the Corporation's ring road at the time. The photograph, on the left below, from Britain from Above shows the new Sutton Road taking … Continue reading 2 Sutton Road Bridge
Hull's River Bridges: Joseph Cox - Bridges of the River Hull Joseph Cox is a graphic artist and illustrator based in Hull, East Yorkshire with 15 years’ experience in the creative industries. His work encompasses illustration, product design, graphic design, animation and print. Inspired by music, technology, architecture, his local surroundings, engineering and more. He … Continue reading 22 Joseph Cox – Bridges of The River Hull
Welcome and thank you to everyone who has subscribed to Open Bridges new project 'Hull's River Bridges' this week. We are very pleased that it is part of the national Heritage Open Day festival 2025. Heritage Open Days is England’s largest festival of history and culture which runs from 12th - 21st September. Hull's River … Continue reading Thank You!
Yesterday belied the thunderous downpour warnings as we ventured south to Newark to visit Les Reid, as part of our new Open Bridges Project for Heritage Open Days – Hull’s River Bridges. It turned out to be a glorious day as we met Les and jumped aboard Les’s workboat the Ruffian and headed down the … Continue reading Adventure on the Ruffian