Railway Swing Bridge Over River Ouse

The railway swing bridge over the River Ouse dates to 1869. It was designed by Thomas E Harrison, with construction undertaken by Butler and Pitts of Stanningley (for the fixed spans), and W G Armstrong and Co of Newcastle upon Tyne (for the swing span), commissioned by the North Eastern Railway Company. 20th-century alterations have included the replacement of some timber starling elements with steel.

The bridge is primarily wrought iron, with cast-iron piers filled with cement, timber starling structures, and abutments of red brick in English bond with sandstone ashlar dressings. The abutments feature coved ashlar cornices and blocking courses. The bridge spans six sections; five fixed spans, each approximately 35 metres in length, and a central swing span of approximately 76 metres, pivoted in the centre. The swing span rotates on 36 rollers within a 9-metre diameter race, housed inside a 15-metre diameter pier supported by seven columns, within a large timber starling structure, now fragmentary, with plank decking.

The fixed spans are supported by sets of three column piers, each featuring plain bell-shaped Egyptian-style lotus flower capitals. Certain piers have been thickened and enclosed within later 19th and 20th-century timber starlings with plank decking, while others have been updated with steel cladding. The swing span includes an iron staircase on the north side and a square platform on top, complete with a cast-iron balustrade and a central octagonal cabin featuring 16-pane windows to seven sides, a coved cornice, a flat roof with wire stays to a central finial. The bridge’s sides are constructed from plate girders.

Originally operated by hydraulic motors, the bridge is now electrically powered, with the motors housed within boxes adjacent to the control cabin. It carries the main Doncaster-Hull railway line and is still in active use. Considered the finest example of its kind in Britain, it was reputedly the second-largest railway swing bridge globally upon its construction. The bridge also lies within Kilpin parish.