Yarmouth suspension bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Yarmouth suspension bridge |
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Depiction of the 1845 bridge collapse by an eye witness
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| Coordinates | 52°36′44″N 1°43′23″E / 52.612253°N 1.723030°E |
| Carries | Yarmouth-Acle road |
| Crosses | River Bure |
| Owner | Cory family |
| Characteristics | |
| Width | 14 feet 9 inches (4.50 m) |
| Longest span | 86 feet (26 m) |
| Number of spans | 1 |
| History | |
| Architect | Joseph John Scoles |
| Constructed by | Gidney Goddard |
| Opened | 23 April 1829 |
| Collapsed | 2 May 1845 |
Yarmouth suspension bridge was a bridge in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. It crossed the River Bure from 1829 until it fell down in 1845. The bridge was made wider in 1832. This change was not planned when the bridge was first designed. On May 2, 1845, the bridge collapsed. A large crowd was on it, watching a circus show on the river. About 79 people died, mostly children. An investigation later found problems with how the bridge was designed and built. Today, a memorial marks the place where this sad event happened.
Contents
Building the Yarmouth Bridge
In 1827, a special law was passed to build a bridge over the River Bure. This bridge was in Great Yarmouth. The Cory family paid for the bridge. It was meant to replace a ferry boat. The bridge would make it easier to reach marshland, gardens, and a bowling green. The family owned these places. People would pay a small fee, called a toll, to cross the bridge. This toll would help the family get their money back.
The bridge was designed by Joseph John Scoles from London. He planned a suspension bridge. It would have two towers and a clear span of about 63 feet (19 m). A "clear span" is the distance between the main supports. Later, the span was made longer, to about 86 feet (26 m). The suspension chains were also made longer. It is thought that Scoles was not asked about this change. Usually, the towers would also be made taller for longer chains.
How the Bridge Was Built
The bridge was held up by suspension chains. There was one chain on each side of the bridge deck. Each chain was made from two sets of "eyebars." These eyebars were made by a local blacksmith. The bridge deck was about 14-foot-9-inch (4.50 m) wide. It had a slight arch shape. The middle part was for carriages, about 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 m) wide. On each side, there were footpaths, each about 4 feet (1.2 m) wide.
Iron rods hung down from the suspension chains. These rods held up the deck. The two towers stood on strong foundations on each river bank. They were about 92 feet (28 m) apart from center to center. Gidney Goddard built the bridge. Mr. Green, a local surveyor, watched over the work.
The bridge opened for people to use on April 23, 1829. Scoles came to the opening. This was the first time he had visited the building site. In 1832, the main road from Yarmouth to Acle was changed to go over this bridge. This was not the original plan. To make the bridge wide enough for two carriages to pass, the footpaths were hung from the sides of the deck.
The Sad Day: May 2, 1845
Cooke's Circus was visiting Great Yarmouth. To get people excited, they advertised a special show. A clown named Arthur Nelson would sail up the River Bure. He would be in a washtub pulled by four geese! This trick was first done by Dicky Usher in 1809. The tub was actually tied to a rowboat with a hidden rope under the water.
A very large crowd gathered to watch this show on May 2, 1845. People started gathering around 5 pm. Thousands of people watched from the river banks. At least 300 people stood on the southern footpath of the bridge. They were standing 4 or 5 people deep.
The Bridge Collapses
While the crowd watched, one of the eyebars in the southern suspension chain broke. Some people in the crowd saw this happen. But it seems no one tried to get people off the bridge. The second eyebar in that part of the chain then had to hold all the weight. It held for about five minutes before it also broke.
The south side of the bridge deck fell into the river. The north side stayed hanging because its chain was still good. Most of the crowd on the southern side fell into the water. Many children were at the front of the crowd. They were pushed against the bridge railing by the people behind them. One mother saved her child by holding onto her with her teeth!
Boats quickly came to help the victims. The injured and the dead were taken to nearby houses and pubs. These included the Norwich Arms, the Admiral Collingwood, and the Swan. The Union House hotel gave blankets to the injured. Lacons Brewery provided lots of hot water for warm baths to help those who survived.
About 75 bodies were found on the day of the accident. Some people were still stuck in the bridge wreckage. One man was saved alive later using a crowbar. In total, 79 people died in this disaster.
Why Did It Happen?
The day after the accident, an official meeting was held. This was to find out what happened. The British government asked James Walker, a top engineer, to write a report.
Walker found that the original plans for the bridge asked for strong, good quality iron for the eyebars. But the plans did not say that the iron should be tested. He found that the eyebars broke at a joint. Each eyebar was made from three separate pieces: two "eyes" and a "bar." These pieces were supposed to be welded together. But the welding was not done perfectly. The weld only covered one-third of the joint's surface. If the welds had been done correctly, the rods likely would not have broken. Walker also noted that the main part of the eyebars was made of better iron than the "eyes." The second rod that broke stretched about an inch before it snapped.
Other leading engineers also discussed Walker's report. Walker believed that making the bridge wider was a bad idea. The extra weight added was small. But this extra weight was outside the original bridge deck. So, it was carried entirely by just one of the chains. It was thought that if the bridge had not been widened, it could have held the crowd. In fact, crowds two or three times larger had been on the bridge before. But those loads were spread more evenly across both suspension chains.
James Meadows Rendel, another famous bridge engineer, thought that such a thin suspension bridge should not have been built where many people might gather. He pointed out that a similar bridge in Montrose, Scotland, had also collapsed. That happened when a crowd gathered to watch a boat race. Rendel called the Yarmouth bridge "a mere toy." He felt the design was not well thought out. He believed a traditional arch bridge should have been built instead. Or, the deck should have been made stronger with a truss.
The main reason for the bridge failing was the bad welding of the eyebars. Rendel said they were so poorly made that they would have failed any proper test. Regular checks of the bridge might have found this problem. One engineer suggested that public bridges should be checked regularly by a skilled engineer.
Remembering the Disaster
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This disaster is known as the "largest recorded loss of life" in Great Yarmouth. A special blue plaque marks the event. It is on the old Swan Inn, about 100 yards (91 m) north of where the bridge used to be. In 2013, lanterns were lit at the site to remember the 168th anniversary of the disaster.
A permanent memorial was put up in September 2013. It cost £5,000. It is near the bridge site on North Quay Road. The memorial is a 1.4-metre (4 ft 7 in) high granite block. It looks like an open book. One page shows a picture of the disaster. The other page lists the names of those who died.
Images for kids
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Depiction of the 1845 bridge collapse by an eye witness
