Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge that spans the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. Mott, Hay, and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, designed the bridge, and Dorman Long & Co. built it. In their Ascot Landau, King George V and Queen Mary were the first to travel over the bridge, inaugurating it on 10 October 1928. The bridge was completed on 25 February 1928. Twenty thousand schoolchildren were given the day off to attend the opening ceremony. Movietone News recorded the King’s speech. It is ranked as the tenth tallest structure in the city and is one of the North East’s most iconic landmarks.
The Tyne Bridge’s towers are made of Cornish granite and were designed by local architect Robert Burns Dick as warehouses with five floors. Because of the uncompleted interior floors of the warehouses in the bridge’s towers, the storage areas were never used. A lift provided access to the Quayside for passengers and goods in the North Tower. Today, the lift is no longer in use. The South tower also included a lift shaft, but no lift was ever installed. The bridge’s design uses a parabolic arch.
Here are some historical photos that show the construction of Tyne Bridge from 1927 to October 1928.
