Great Britain: Queen's College Bridge in Cambridge

This is an odd bridge. One end is supported by the President's Lodge, which is the oldest building on the River Cam (built in 1460). It's called the 'mathematical' bridge because it's design was claimed to allow one to remove any member without affecting it's stability. It was also said to be based on a design by the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio.

The story that it was designed by Isaac Newton, that it was built without nails or connectors, that the design came from China, that the students took it apart and then couldn't reassemble it, etc. are all apparently untrue.

It was designed by William Etheridge and originally built by James Essex in 1749. The current bridge was built to the same design in 1905 but in teak instead of oak. It is an interesting design, with long members fanning out to form tangents to the arch with short radial members that tie the bridge together.

A much longer article about this interesting bridge can be found at The Bridge in Winter on the Internet.

Great Britain: Queen's College Bridge in Cambridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Great Britain: King's College Bridge in Cambridge

Cambridgeshire County is about 60 miles north of London. It includes Cambridge University with the River Cam running through it. There are many interesting bridges crossing the Cam, but unfortunately I only photographed a few of them. I couldn't find a convenient footpath along the river, which l typically use for looking at bridges. Apparently most people find it more convenient to stand on the back of a small boat (a punt) and push with a long pole while viewing the Cam.

King's College, Queen's College, and several other Colleges at Cambridge have pedestrian bridges named after them that cross the Cam. The first King's College Bridge was built on this site in the 15th century and the current bridge was designed by William Wilkins in 1818. It's a single span, filled spandrel stone arch with a solid parapet and paving stones for a deck. You can see under the arch (in the distance) the 1639 Clare College Bridge with its three spans.

A text I use for UK bridges, The National Trust Book of Bridges refers to the bridge's style as Classical. This usually means the design has shapes reminiscent of those used by the ancient Greeks or Romans. Maybe the use of the arch was picked up from the Romans after the Middle Ages. Or perhaps the author is referring to a style that was less ornate and more functional?

Great Britain: King's College Bridge in Cambridge by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.