The Lennox Bridge is a heritage-listed

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

single

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

across the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

, located in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The bridge was designed by and built under the supervision of

David Lennox David Lennox (1788 – 12 November 1873) was a Scottish-Australian bridge builder and master stonemason born in Ayr, Scotland. Personal details Trained as a stonemason, Lennox worked on Thomas Telford, Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge at An ...

, the first Colonial Superintendent of Bridges using convict labour between 1836 and 1839. The Lennox Bridge is the third oldest surviving masonry bridge in New South Wales. The bridge carries Church Street, the main north-south street of Parramatta's central business district. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999. The bridge carries the

Parramatta Light Rail The Parramatta Light Rail is a Standard-gauge railway, standard gauge Light rail in Sydney, light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The first stage of the line runs from Westmead, New South Wales, Westmead to Carlingford, New S ...

, which runs on-street along Church Street.

History

The Lennox Bridge is on the site of the earliest documented crossing of the Parramatta River in the Parramatta area, dating from early colonial settlement. The current bridge is the third on, or adjacent to, the site. The first was a simple timber footbridge which was destroyed by floods in 1795. The second bridge, called the Gaol Bridge, was built on stone piers with timber railings and was completed between 1802 and 1804. The current Lennox Bridge is a single span stone elliptical arch bridge over Parramatta River on the line of Church Street, and is constructed of sandstone sourced from the

Parramatta Female Factory The Parramatta Female Factory is a National Heritage List (Australia), National Heritage Listed place and has three original sandstone buildings and the sandstone gaol walls. The Parramatta Female Factory was designed by Convicts in Australia, c ...

quarry. Completed in 1839, the bridge cost £1,797 to complete. This was David Lennox's third and final bridge, his first two being the Lennox Bridge at , completed in 1833 (making it the second-oldest bridge on the Australian mainland, the oldest being the bridge at the base of Devines Hill at

Wisemans Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's ...

on the Great North Road, which was completed in 1829–1830) and the

Lansdowne Bridge The Lansdowne Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge that carries the northbound carriageway of the Hume Highway (route A22 at this point) across Prospect Creek between Lansvale and Lansdowne. Situated in southwestern Sydney it is located on ...

, , completed in 1836. In 1885–1886 the Department of Public Works removed the wall on the upstream (i.e. western) side of the bridge to widen it, and put up the present railing at the same time. In 1901–02 the bridge was strengthened internally for the Castle Hill Tramway. In 1912 the parapet on the western side was removed, providing a cantilevered pedestrian way. In 1934–1935 this new section was removed, the Department of Main Roads widening the bridge in order to handle increased traffic. This modification saw the replacement of the cantilevered walk-way with an open concrete type and the straightening of the curved western face. In the 1990s Lennox Bridge was saved from demolition by campaigning by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

(NSW).

Description

Lennox Bridge is a single

arch bridge spanning 91 feet (27.73m), the clear span of the arch being 23.16 m across the Parramatta River with approaches on the line of Church St.

Construction of tunnels for pedestrians and cyclists

In 2012 a controversial proposal to construct tunnels through the bridge on both sides of the bank for pedestrians and cyclists was approved by

Parramatta City Council The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, ...

; and work began in early 2014 with expectations to open before Christmas that year. However, there was a delay attributed to archeological investigations that uncovered a sandstone pier and timber girders of the second bridge on that site, built between 1802 and 1804. While both portals opened in 2015, the southern tunnel was closed off to assist with the construction of the

(completed in 2024), an
The Lennox
a riverfront high-rise residential apartment building, which will include a new public walkway on the western side of the southern tunnel.

Parramatta Light Rail

In 2019, construction began on the first stage of the Parramatta Light Rail line, servicing Westmead to Carlingford via the Parramatta CBD and Camellia with a two-way track spanning 12 kilometres, and opened on the 20th of December, 2024. As part of the project, a light rail and pedestrian zone was established on Church Street between Market Street and Macquarie Street (including the Lennox Bridge) and the existing bridge was retained, including the recently constructed active transport portals through the approaches, and serves as a crossing for light rail, pedestrians and emergency vehicles only (i.e. no general road traffic).

Heritage listing

Lennox Bridge is one of Parramatta's most important historic structures, and one of the earliest bridges in New South Wales and Australia. It is an example of the work of notable engineer David Lennox. The site possesses potential to contribute to an understanding of early urban development in Parramatta. The bridge is both historically and technically significant, and is rare. Lennox Bridge, Parramatta was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Attribution

External links

* {{Geography of Parramatta River Bridges completed in 1802 Bridges completed in 1839 Deck arch bridges Bridges in Sydney Transport infrastructure in Parramatta Sandstone bridges in Australia Convictism in New South Wales Streets in Sydney History of New South Wales 1839 establishments in Australia New South Wales State Heritage Register Road bridges in New South Wales Stone arch bridges in Australia