Dunham Bridge is a

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...

across the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

in England. It spans the border between

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

to the west and east respectively. It forms part of the

A57 road The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln via Warrington, Cadishead, Irlam, Patricroft, Eccles, Salford and Manchester, then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass (between the high moorlands of Bleaklow ...

, in the section between the Great North Road and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

. It takes its name from the nearby village of

Dunham-on-Trent Dunham-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located on the A57 road, about west of Dunham Bridge, a toll bridge crossing the River Trent. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 351, falling slig ...

. The General Estates Company, which also runs the

Bathampton Bathampton () is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. The parish has a population of 1,603. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the village and a toll bridge links Bathampton to Bathea ...

and Whitchurch toll bridges, has a stake in the ownership of Dunham Bridge.

History

Until the bridge was built and opened in 1832, the crossing of the river was by Dunham Ferry. In 1814, the fare was reported at half a crown. The bridge was established in the 1830s, under the powers of the ''Dunham Bridge Act 1830'', when a group of local businessmen organised the original four-span,

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

construction by the civil engineer, George Leather (1786–1870). The first person to cross the bridge was Eliza Woolas of Laneham, who used a sixteen-inch batten to span the remaining gap on a Sunday - presumably when no workmen were present. River Trent flooded Dunham Bridge 1979 C

River Trent flooded Dunham Bridge 1979 C

The superstructure was rebuilt on its original

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

in 1977–79 to trunk road standards. A new

toll plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemente ...

was opened in 1994 by the

Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

Mr. Michael Dennis, doubling the number of

lanes In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

through the

booths Booths is a chain of high-end supermarkets in Northern England. Most of its branches are in Lancashire, but there are also branches in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It has been described as the "Wait ...

from two to four. During the rebuilding, a temporary bridge was built with single lane usage, controlled with temporary traffic signals.

Tolls

The tolls were last increased in 2013. Tariffs are regulated by the Department for Transport. Passage is free at all times for pedestrians, cyclists, motor-cyclists and three-wheeled

invalid carriage Invalid carriages were usually single seater road vehicles, buggies, or self-propelled vehicles for disabled people. They pre-dated modern electric mobility scooters and, from the 1920s, were generally powered by small gasoline/petrol engines, alt ...

s. On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, passage is free for all traffic. Dunham Bridge has been closed several times due to flooding, mainly on the Lincolnshire side: in 1897, 1977, 2001, and during the last week of December 2012 due to flooding. It was also closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Dunham Bridge Toll Company
Bridges in Nottinghamshire Bridges in Lincolnshire Bridges completed in 1832 Bridges completed in 1979 Toll bridges in England Bridges across the River Trent

History

Tolls

Further reading

See also

References

External links