Corbridge Bridge.

[NY 9888 6416] Corbridge Bridge. (1)

'By Fine made in the County Court of Northumberland on Aug 16th 1235, Simon de Divelston accorded the burgesses permission to build one end of Corbridge Bridge upon his land at Dilston, and granted to them a line of road southward from the head of the said bridge to Holepethe, a name evidently designating the lane leading from the old ford and coming out near the present railway station'.
It is plain from this record that no bridge then spanned the Tyne. In 1235 the burgesses began building a bridge 'above the line of the ford and leading immediately out of the town.' 'The earliest mention of a bridge as already in existence occurs in the assize rolls of 1256'. (a)
Corbridge Bridge is frequently referred to in the 14th and 15th centuries as being in great disrepair. In 1674 it was finally replaced by a seven-arched structure. The southern arch was rebuilt in 1829 and 1881 an additional width of 3 feet was added. (2)

'On the 31st January, 1401, a papal indulgence was procured for those who should visit the Chapel of St Mary the Virgin built on Corbridge bridge, and give alms for the repair conservation of the said chapel and bridge, they being in large part destroyed'. The chapel was again referred to as ruinous on the 3rd March, 1428. (3)

The bridge is in excellent condition. There is a sundial, dated 1674, at the bay over the third pier from the north end.
No trace of the earlier bridge is to be seen. W P Hedley of Corbridge, confirmed that the foundations were once to be seen almost directly under the present bridge.
See Illustrations Card. (4)

Although the water in the river is now (June 1956) very low and quite clear, there are no indications to be seen of the foundations of the 13th century bridge.
The sundial appears to be quite original but the date has been re-cut fairly recently. (5)

Condition unchanged. (6)

Grade I Corbridge Bridge 1674. Very fine bridge of freestone, 7 segmental arches with voussoirs, and double corbels for roll cornice. Stepped triangular cutwaters, with passing places. A.M. (7)

Corbridge Bridge, 1674. Replace wooden bridge of 1235 and a medieval stone one. Widened in 1880. The only bridge in the area to have survived the flood of 1771. Seven arches. (8)

Seven unequal segmental spans, total span of 146m. South arch rebuilt in 1829. (9)

Corbridge Bridge is constructed of coursed and squared sandstone; the early 19th century reconstruction of the southernmost arch, the later rebuilding of the parapet and more recent heightening and repairs to the parapet are all evident in the varying degrees of weathering of the stone.
The bridge is of seven segmental arches, with triangular cutwaters between the piers, carried up as refuges; the arches each have recessed voussoirs and flush arch-rings, and the cutwaters have chamfered set-backs. The parapet, with a sloped coping, is carried on two-stepped corbels, except above the crown of the arch where the corbels are united as a single curved oversailing course. At the angle of the parapet and the south side of the fourth cutwater from the south, on the east side, is a block bearing an incised sundial; this has been renewed at least once, and has no gnomen; the present version lacks the '1674' date of its predecessor(s).
Whilst the greater part of the present bridge is of 1674 (apart from the rebuilt arch A), it would appear that earlier fabric, presumably medieval, survives in the northern abutment (on the west side of which a chamfered plinth can be seen disappearing into the present (1674) wall) and possibly also in the southern abutment as well.
The 1674 bridge was the only one in Tynedale to survive the flood of 1771. In 1780 Stephen Loadus was contracted to raise the road level of the southern approach to the bridge, and to repair the flank walls. The southernmost arch was rebuilt in 1831; the surviving contract in the Records Office specifies that the southernmost pier was to be raised, and the abutment lowered; details of the timber re-inforced paving of the invert seem to correspond with what is visible today. Old Masonry visible at the north end of the west face of the bridge shows that there was formerly a ramped approach to this end of the bridge as well, but that the roadway has been raised considerably, possibly in 1880/1 when the bridge was widened by the corbelling out of the parapets. The parapet is recorded as having been raised by one 11 inch course in 1950, although visual inspection shows that two courses of the parapet appear to be fairly new stone. Subsequent to this date have been the construction of a new concrete invert in 1969, and various repairs following accident damage, notably in 1973 and 1974, including the renewal of the incised sundial on the eastern parapet, and of a section of the eastern parapet of the southernmost refuge.
A temporary steel bridge was built alongside the old bridge in 1970-71 to alleviate traffic congestion. It was removed in 1981 after construction of the A69 by-pass in 1977.
Corbridge Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge on the Tyne. It historical interest is probably only surpassed by the bridges at Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Architecturally it is a relatively simple structure, typical of its date in the second half of the 17th century. Of especial interest are the numerous masons marks; these are suffering from erosion and deserve recording in some detail. The early 19th century reconstruction of the southern arch was carried out in a style that closely matched the original, and the late 19th century widening and rebuilding of the parapet on corbels is aesthetically more attractive than the 20th century widening of other bridges, eg Hexham and Rothbury.
Archaeologically it is unclear how much medieval fabric survived in the abutments of the present bridge; stone by stone recording may help to elucidate this. It is also unclear how much of the sub-surface sections of the structure have been affected by 20th century alterations; mains services have certainly been led across the bridge, but there seems to be no evidence that the original infill of the piers has ever been removed and replaced. Pre-19th century road levels at either end of the bridge are going to be considerably below the present road surface. Whilst considerable works at river level were carried out in 1969, sections of an older paved invert, reinforced with timbers, survive beneath the southern arch; it would appear likely to be contemporary with the 1831 rebuilding of the arch.
What has not been satisfactorily resolved is the question of the survival of the piers of the medieval bridge. In the 19th century remains of it could be seen. Subsequent works on the invert, notably the 1969 concreting, have further obscured any such remains. (10)

Built 1235. Replaced in 1674. In 1881 it was widened by three feet. (11)

Tomlinson reports in 1888 that the remains of the medieval bridge can be seen at low water on the same line as the present bridge. The remains consist of oak tie-beams which braced the pier foundations together. An accumulation of gravel has covered the line of facing stones and part of a cutwater which had been visible in 1886 beneath the northernmost arch of the present bridge. (12)

Archaeological monitoring of trial holes for engineering investigations in 2010 recorded potentially 17th century mortared sandstone masonr, interpreted as the intrados of the arch barrel at the crown of span 7 (at north end of bridge). Potentially contemporary with the 17th century masonry was an area of metalled surface. Evidence of 19th century alterations, associated with widening of the bridge, was also recorded in span 7. Boreholes encountered sandstone blocks and cement which potentially represents part of the strcutural fabric of piers 1 and 3, or may be backfilling associated with and episode of construction/alteration; the date of origin of this material is uncertain. Various layers of gravel, cobbles and sandstone blocks post-date these earliest deposits. (13)

Scheduled. (14)

Corbridge Bridge. Grade I. Bridge, 1674, southern arch rebuilt 1829, bridge widened 1881. Squared stone. 7 segmental arches with recessed voussoirs and flush arch rings, between triangular cutwaters with chamfered set-backs. Moulded string below parapet; above arches parapet, with chamfered coping, carried on moulded corbels with continuous roll moulding above. 3-sided refuges. The only bridge in Tynedale to survive the great flood of 1771. (15a)

NY 988 642. Corbridge Bridge. Scheduled No ND/123. (15b)

Recorded by NRIM. (15c)