Image ID: 09505

Trent Bridge and Great North Road, Newark, c 1920s-1930s

Courtesy of Antoine

Great North Road and Cattle Market
Newark on Trent
England

In the centre of the picture is the old Great North Road heading out of Newark towards South Muskham. In the foreground is the River Trent below Newark Castle and the town (Trent) Bridge. On the right are the premises of Windsor and Stephenson, manufacturers of agricultural machinery, whilst on the left is the Cattle Market. The Cattle Market moved to this site beside the Great North Road on 20th April 1886 and remained on the site until March 1990 when it moved to land a little further out of town beside the Newark Relief Road. The first evidence for a bridge at Newark dates from 1135 when Bishop Alexander of Lincoln was granted authority to both build his castle at Newark and bridge the river close under its walls. Alexander's bridge would almost certainly have been constructed of timber, although it is possible that its piers were of rough masonry. Subsequent rebuildings in timber always proved inadequate in the wake of large floods (to which the area was occasionally prone) and finally, in the 18th century, pressure was brought to bear on the Duke of Newcastle (the town's principal landowner) to build a new bridge using more durable materials. This was duly put into effect in 1773 when the foundation for the present brick and stone bridge was laid (completed 1775). The bridge, which is still in use today, is made up of seven segmental arches (constructed of brick faced with stone) with pilasters over the cutwaters. Its construction coincided with significant changes which were also taking place in connection with the waterway it spanned. Work to improve the Navigation past Newark commenced in 1772 (a year before the new bridge was begun) and the two schemes were co-ordinated. The final episode in the bridge's development took place in 1848 following a series of complaints about the quality of the road surface on top. In December 1846, for instance, one local newspaper commented that with the increase in traffic heading for the recently opened Castle railway station, the road over the bridge was 'hardly passable, being just at present almost ankle-deep in mud..' Two years later in 1848, perhaps as a result of such complaints, the carriageway was widened and footways added, being corbelled out on either side. The graceful iron railings were also added at this time and it is in reference to this renovation that the date 1848 (in Roman numerals) was placed beneath the depictions of the Newark coat of arms emblazoned on each side of the footpath. The work was completed in 1849, endowing the bridge with the general appearance it has kept to this day.

Date: 1920 - 1930

Organisation Reference: NCCE003500

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