Derwent Bridge

The Derwent Bridge. Crossed the Derwent between Burnopfield and Rowlands Gill, on the border between Tyne and Wear and Durham. The bridge was built in 1727 as a waggonway bridge carrying a re-alignment of the Clavering's waggonway to staiths at Derwenthaugh. The waggonway crossing is first shown on a plan of 1750 apparently comprising a single-arched 'bridge' on abutments of stone with substantial approach batteries, carrying a single track across the river. The upper part of the present bridge is a 19th century rebuild, perhaps assocaited with the conversion of the waggonway route into a turnpike down Busty Bank. However, the lower parts of the bridge abutment on the eastern side are of earlier masonry - oblong ashlars - and are probably part of the 1727 construction.