The History of the Tyne Bridge

National World - LocalTV

With recent controversy over the traffic issues surrounding Gateshead and Newcastle, we looked into the history of the Tyne Bridge and its cultural relevance to the North East region.

Transcript

00:00The £32 million project is supposed to take four years.

00:04Maintenance and refurbishment of the Tyne Bridge started in September 2023,

00:08with year one focusing on repairs for the main structure, drainage, merging and surfacing,

00:13year two repairing the main river span and repainting of the bridge,

00:17and year three should see the completion of the new castle site,

00:20and year four should see the completion of the main arch painting and final resurfacing.

00:26But many will probably ask, why are Newcastle City Council going through all that trouble and costs for a bridge,

00:32when the money could be used for other things?

00:35Well the Tyne Bridge is Grade 2 listed, meaning it's on the National Heritage List for England,

00:40where structures and buildings are protected by regulations that preserve their historical and architectural significance.

00:48This means they are legally protected from being demolished, extended or inappropriately altered,

00:54and if we look closer to the history of the Tyne Bridge, you can understand why.

01:00The Tyne Bridge was built for the new age of the motorised vehicles,

01:03and to help cope with increasing traffic crossing the River Tyne.

01:07The bridge was officially opened on 10 October 1928 by King George V.

01:12The King and Queen were the first to cross the bridge on the King's horse-drawn carriage,

01:16as thousands of people lined the streets for the ceremony,

01:19and 20,000 school children across the region had been given the day off to mark the special occasion.

01:25The bridge being made of steel and granite was a major engineering achievement for the early 20th century,

01:31and at the time of construction, the Tyne Bridge was the world's largest span bridge.

01:36Sadly, a gentleman named Nathaniel Collins, who was 33 years old, lost his life during the construction.

01:42He was the scaffolder for himself shields, who fell from the bridge during a shift.

01:47His family remembered that he had worked as a ship's plater, and then served in the First World War.

01:52They stated he was a man who knew no fear.

01:56Construction began in August 1925, using ship-building techniques by local shipyard workers,

02:02and was regarded as a prototype for the Sydney Harbour Bridge,

02:06which, alongside the Opera House, is widely regarded as the iconic image of Sydney.

02:11So, as you can expect, both the Tyne Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge had the same design team.

02:16Within that design team was a woman named Dorothy Buchanan,

02:20who was the first woman to gain entry to the industry of civil engineers.

02:25In March 2024, a commemorative plaque was unveiled on the Tyne Bridge, in honour of Buchanan.

02:32The Mayor of Gateshead at the time, Councillor Eileen McMaster, revealed the plaque.

02:36The plaque contains a quote from Buchanan herself, stating,

02:39I felt that I represented all the women in the world. It was my hope that I would be followed by many others.

02:45Buchanan may have got her wish after all.

02:47On the bridge's 90th birthday, over 90 female engineers from across the country gathered in Newcastle

02:53to celebrate the anniversary of the opening of the Tyne Bridge, and the female engineer behind the design.

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