The Corporation Bridge is a Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge over the

Old Dock The Old Dock, originally known as Thomas Steers' dock, was the world's first commercial wet dock. The dock was built on the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, starting in 1710 and completed in 1716. A natural tidal pool off the River Merse ...

( Alexandra Dock) in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

, England. Built in 1925, it replaced an earlier swing bridge dating to 1872.

1872 bridge

The

Grimsby Improvement Act 1869 Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes direc ...

( 32 & 33 Vict. c. x) allowed the land west of the old dock to be developed, and a bridge built across the dock. The bridge was constructed by Head Wrightson and the Teesdale Ironworks to the design of Charles Sacre. Situated between the two sets of spans was a horizontally turning swing bridge of of asymmetric hogback plate girder design with a clear space when open of . The bridge opened in 1872

1925 bridge

The bridge spans Alexandra Dock near Victoria Mills, Victoria Street and replaced a swing bridge. The bridge is an electrically powered road bridge built on the

Scherzer rolling lift bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

principle road bridge, built in 1925 to the design of Alfred C. Gardner, docks engineer of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

. The contractors were Sir William Arrol & Co. It was formally opened by the Prince of Wales (

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

), commemorated on a plaque on the bridge and is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The bridge was restored by Great Grimsby Borough Council c. 1980.

Operation

Although the old dock is now virtually inactive of shipping, the bridge is covered by an act of parliament requiring it to be lifted upon certain requests. Requests were made in the 1990s to allow the historical

Ross Tiger ''Ross Tiger'' is a traditional side-winder fishing trawler that was converted into a museum ship in 1992. She is currently berthed in Alexandra Dock at her home port of Grimsby, close to the site of the former PS ''Lincoln Castle''. She forms ...

and

PS Lincoln Castle PS ''Lincoln Castle'' was a coal-fired side-wheel paddle steamer, which ferried passengers across the Humber from the 1941 until 1978. She was the last coal-fired paddle steamer still in regular services in the UK. Later, she served as a pub at He ...

vessels to enter the old dock and be permanently berthed to serve as museum pieces and restaurants respectively. The bridge is still occasionally lifted for testing purposes, most recently being done so in May 2016. In 2017, after weeks of repair work, engineers were not able to carry out a test lift of the bridge. A restoration project was carried out from February 2023, funded by the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

(£2.967m),

North East Lincolnshire Council North East Lincolnshire Council is the local authority of North East Lincolnshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs th ...

(£1.83m) and the Local Transport Fund (£170,000). As of December 2024, the restoration work is ongoing and there is no given completion date.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Corporation Bridge, Grimsby Bridges in Lincolnshire Buildings and structures in Grimsby Bridges completed in 1872 Swing bridges in England Bridges completed in 1925 Bascule bridges in England Port of Grimsby Grade II listed bridges