Kingsgate Bridge is a striking, modern reinforced concrete construction

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

across the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through ...

, in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. It was personally designed in 1963 by

Ove Arup Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE, FCIOB (16 April 1895 – 5 February 1988) was an English engineer who founded Arup Group Limited, a multinational corporation that offers engineering, design, planning, project management, and ...

, the last structure he ever designed. Kingsgate Bridge connects Bow Lane on the historic

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

in the centre of Durham to Dunelm House on New Elvet (to which building Arup's studio also contributed), and opened in 1966. Kingsgate Bridge is thought to have been one of Arup's favourite designs of all, he having spent many hours working on every detail of the plans. Its construction was unusual. The two halves were each built parallel to the river, then rotated through 90° to make the crossing. The meeting point of the two halves is marked by a simple bronze expansion joint using a linear gear bearing. In 1965, the bridge was the winner of the Civic Trust Award. In 1993, it won Certificate of Outstanding Performance (Mature Structures Category) of

the Concrete Society The Concrete Society is a UK based Nonprofit organization, non-profit company that was founded in 1966 in response to the increasing need for a single organisation embracing all those interested in concrete. On its formal inauguration, on 13 Octob ...

. A bust of Arup, cast in resin, was installed on the side of Dunelm House, the students' union building adjacent to the bridge, in September 2011. The sculpture is a copy of a 1987 bust by

Diana Brandenburger Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997 ...

, held by the National Portrait Gallery. It is a replacement for a previous copy of the same bust, in bronze, which was unveiled by Karin Perry, Arup's daughter, on 16 April 2003, the 108th anniversary of Arup's birth, but which was stolen from its

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

during the summer of 2006. In February 1998, the Durham Students' Union president, Tom Joyce, fell through the bridge, but caught himself and was uninjured. This event was described in the Palatinate as ‘an Indiana Jones style adventure’ with Mr Joyce himself being quoted with the immortal words ‘there was no time to fear’. During a university RAG Week in the late 1960s students suspended a car beneath the bridge.

Gallery

References

{{River item box , River =

, upstream = Elvet Bridge , downstream = Prebends Bridge , type = bridge , thisis = , upsub = , downsub = , location = Bridges across the River Wear Bridges in County Durham Bridges completed in 1966 Ove Arup buildings and structures Grade I listed bridges Durham, Kingsgate Buildings and structures in Durham, England Pedestrian bridges in England Recipients of Civic Trust Awards 1966 establishments in England