Walney Bridge, officially Jubilee Bridge, is a

bascule 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- o ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England. Completed in 1908, it spans Walney Channel, linking Barrow Island to

Walney Island Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is part of Barrow-in-Furness, sepa ...

. The bridge carries the

A590 The A590 is a trunk road in southern Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It runs north-east to south-west from M6 junction 36, through the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness to terminate at Biggar Bank on Walney Island.trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

, which has its western terminus on Walney.

History

Talks began in 1897 to how feasible the construction of a bridge connecting Barrow to Walney would be. At the time, Walney residents were frustrated by the fact that they had to use a ferry to traverse the Walney Channel, and they also saw it as an opportunity to commemorate the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

. When the bridge was finally approved many companies fought for the building contract, with Sir William Arrol & Co. winning it. Construction of the £175,000 (in that time) bridge began in mid-1905 and it was finally opened by Barrow mayor Mrs. T. F. Taylor on 30 July 1908. For 27 years Walney Bridge was a toll bridge until 4 April 1935, when the

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of York. Three of the eleven Dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, while two of the Dukes married twice; therefore, th ...

officially renamed it Jubilee Bridge to mark the Silver Jubilee of George V, as recorded on a plaque on the bridge, and handed it to the townspeople. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the bascule bridge was lifted every night to ensure that anyone who made landfall on Walney was unable to reach Barrow by crossing the bridge and reaching its shipbuilding facilities. The bridge is now over 100 years old, and in 2008

Cumbria County Council Cumbria County Council was the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria in the North West of England. Established in April 1974, following its first elections held the previous year, it was an elected local government body re ...

spent £1 million on renovating the bridge and repainting it for its centenary celebration. The bridge is not to be confused with

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

's Jubilee Bridge, which is also in Barrow and is a Grade II listed structure.

The Blue Bridge

Walney Jubilee Bridge was often nicknamed by local residents ''the blue bridge'' in relation to its colour and to distinguish it from the other bridge situated on Barrow. These nicknames, however, were ended when in 2008 the bridge was painted gold and black.

Centenary celebrations

The bridge celebrated its 100th anniversary with significant renovation and a night of

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

In fiction

The bridge was the link to the fictional island of Sodor, home of

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...

et al. in

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

books by the Reverend W. Awdry. In the Railway Series, the bridge opened much later in 1977.

References

{{Bridges in Barrow-in-Furness Walney Bridge Walney Bridge Walney Walney Bridge Walney Bridge Walney Bridge Former toll bridges in England 1908 establishments in England

History

The Blue Bridge

Centenary celebrations

In fiction

See also

References