A rare photograph of the new Victoria Bridge while the old stone bridge is being demolished. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1762 for the construction of a bridge and it was finally completed in 1769. The bridge was subject to rent to the Bishop of Durham and the costs of building it had to be repaid, so a system of tolls was charged. These were supposed to be abolished as soon as the debt was cleared, but they remained in place. By 1819 the local people took the law into their own hands and threw two of the bridge gates into the river, and burnt the third gate in the High Street. By 1820 the bridge was free of tolls! Although the bridge was fantastic for Stockton’s business, the bridge had a devastating impact on Yarm. The building of the bridge prevented many ships reaching Yarm, as the ships grew in size they became unable to navigate far up river. This only heightened shipping in Stockton and affirmed its place as the main port on the Tees before the 1800s. The bridge also halted Yarm’s shipbuilding. Stockton was not affected by this, as the yards were springing up east of the bridge towards the sea. By 1876 the old bridge was inadequate and in 1881 work was begun on a new bridge. The new bridge, made of stone and iron, was opened in 1887 and named the ‘Victoria Bridge’ in recognition of Queen Victoria.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Have you any reference for this great picture please?
Perhaps Peter should be expressing gratitude that this wonderfull old picture has been unearthed. I take my hat off to the team for their superb job.
p.s. The main reason for the barrage was to help prevent flooding at Yarm; the clean water and fish etc are a fantastic bonus not a curse.
I can remember looking from the bus and seeing low water and the mud banks. That sight wont be seen as long as the Tees barrage stands. I wonder if the Tees barrage will ever be knocked down and the tide allowed to flow back up to Yarm as nature planned…
Those mud banks at times smelled putrid, they seemed to take in and hold the pollution from the discharges into the river from various sources. I worked on the Quayside for a time and the smell was awful when the tide was out. We now have a clean river.
As to the tide running to Yarm it did reluctantly, the reed beds and blockages above Preston Park made it almost impossible to get to Yarm even in a small boat, we did try a few times in my son’s boat having to turn back because of the rubbish and logs stuck in the banks. It took months to clean it all out so the boats can get up there once more.
The river is used now by the clubs training youngsters on the water, this is their heritage, they will grow up enjoying the the use of a nice stretch of water without the smell I remember, you only have to see the hundreds of water birds on the river to know it is a better place.