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Mercury Bridge
Mercury Bridge
Coordinates54°24′14″N 1°43′51″W / 54.404004°N 1.730876°W / 54.404004; -1.730876
CarriesA6136 road
CrossesRiver Swale
LocaleRichmond, North Yorkshire, England
Other name(s)Station Bridge
Named forRoyal Signals
Location
Map

Mercury Bridge (also known as Station Bridge), is a grade II listed structure that crosses the River Swale in North Yorkshire, connecting Richmond to the south side of the river. The bridge was commissioned by the railway company whose Richmond railway station terminus lay on the south side of the river, and so provided ease of access to Richmond town. The bridge now carries the A6136 road and was renamed from Station Bridge in 1975 in honour of the Royal Corps of Signals (who's cap badge has a winged Mercury motif). The bridge was noted for being one of a few railway-owned bridges which carried no rails, but was used to gain access to a station.

History

The Great North of England railway company received assent to build a line from Eryholme on their main line (later the East Coast Main Line), to Richmond in 1845.[1] Richmond was the terminus of the branch, and besides the station building, it had a vast array of buildings designed by G. T. Andrews, including the bridge for which he had overall responsibility, but the structural design was carried out by the office of Robert Stephenson.[2]

Mercury Bridge was a rarity in England being a bridge owned by a railway company, but for which no rails were laid. It was built purely for the public to access the station area, which lay in a different parish to that of Richmond, on the south side of the River Swale.[3][4][note 1] Until the building of Mercury Bridge (then station Bridge) in 1846, the only river crossing at Richmond was the Green Bridge, which carried the Richmond to Lancaster Turnpike.[7][8]

Mercury Bridge is ??? long, 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and the roadway is 20 feet (6.1 m) across with two footpaths on either side of the bridge deck.[9]

The bridge has four chamfered pointed arches, each 52 feet (16 m) long, and the parapet is decorated with matching modillions. The parapet used to have several octagonal columns which housed gas lamps, but apart from the very ends, these lights have been removed.[10][9] Severe flooding on the River Swale in the year 2000 damaged the central pier, closing the bridge for several months.[11] The repairs were carried out to the bridge's stonework, but the repair and the replaced stone are quite visible against the older parts of the bridge.[12]

In 1975, the bridge was renamed to Mercury Bridge in honour of the Royal Corps of Signals 50th anniversary. The regiment was based locally in Catterick and a winged Mercury is the Regimental motif as adorned on their cap badge.[13][14][15]<ref>Hatcher, Jane (2004). The History of Richmond, North Yorkshire. Pickering: Blackthorn Press. p. 221. ISBN 0-9546300-1-7.</ref

Apart from crossing the River Swale, a staircase on the eastern side provides access to green spaces adjoining the south bank of the river.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ Similar ventures whereby bridges were built to allow access and egress to stations (Keswick and Cleckheaton Spen), but Mercury Bridge was later acquired by the county council and had been made into an A Road, which others have not.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Hoole, K. (1973). Forgotten railways; North-East England. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. p. 82. ISBN 0-7153-5894-4.
  2. ^ Fawcett, Bill (2011). George Townsend Andrews of York; 'the Railway Architect'. Yorkshire Architectural & York Archaeological Society. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-873513-76-7.
  3. ^ "Disused Stations: Richmond Station". disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  4. ^ RCAA 2019, p. 56.
  5. ^ "Disused Stations: Keswick Station". disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  6. ^ Bairstow, Martin (1984). The Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Railway; the Standedge Line. Pudsey: Bairstow. p. 26. ISBN 0-90243830-1.
  7. ^ Lloyd, Chris (2 January 2022). "The Good Intent: Long lost pub where drinkers elected their own mayor". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  8. ^ RCAA 2019, p. 74.
  9. ^ a b Rennison, Robert William; Barbey, M. F. (1996). Civil engineering heritage. Northern England (2 ed.). London: T. Telford. p. 137. ISBN 0727725181.
  10. ^ Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's historic railway buildings: an Oxford gazetteer of structures and sites. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 417. ISBN 0198662475.
  11. ^ Hatcher, Jane (2004). The History of Richmond, North Yorkshire. Pickering: Blackthorn Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-9546300-1-7.
  12. ^ RCAA 2019, p. 8.
  13. ^ Hatcher, Jane (1990). Richmondshire architecture. Richmond: Hatcher. p. 224. ISBN 0951588001.
  14. ^ RCAA 2019, p. 103.
  15. ^ "Cap badge, other ranks, Royal Corps of Signals, 1940 (c) | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London". collection.nam.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  16. ^ RCAA 2019, p. 102.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercury Bridge, Richmond.
Bridges over the River Swale
Upstream: Richmond Bridge Downstream: Easby Bridge
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