If you went to Earith in the 1950’s you would have crossed over this suspension bridge. Nowadays you hardly notice the low concrete bridge that replaced it in 1963 but if you look to the right as you head into Earith you can still see where the road went to this old bridge. In fact there has been a bridge of one sort or another here since the 1200’s. The first iron bridge was opened in 1847 but was broken in 1863 when a traction engine was crossing. The bridge shown here was built in 1865. This picture was taken as work started on the new (current) bridge and you can see concrete piles ready to be installed. There is a very interesting history by Mike Petty available online by Googling “mike petty earith bridge”
September 2014
