Baths Bridge at Durham Regatta 1960s/1970s

Baths Bridge turns 60 years old today, 16th June 2022. The bridge and its predecessors have some stories to tell.

The 1898 to 1962 Baths Bridge at Durham Regatta

The elegant arched wooden bridge of 1855 lasted some forty years, a tribute to the skills of the period. The replacement in 1898 was typical of the late Victorian period.. A flat single span footway with metal lattice work, set on stone piers and reached, when the river was not in flood, by steps on each bank. It too had a long life, surviving into the nineteen sixties to be replaced by the current reinforced concrete structure. This closely mirrors the smooth sloping shape of the earlier wooden bridge. Sadly, time has in its turn caught up with the concrete and today at 60 the bridge is awaiting major refurbishment.

Baths Bridge at Durham Regatta in the mid 1980s

In all its incarnations Baths Bridge has shared its history with Durham Regatta. For many years the bridge housed the Regatta’s commentary box, mounting points being designed into the bridge structure, and featured prominently in iconic newspaper and personal photographs. There must be treasured photo albums throughout the county and further afield showing proud rowers in the foreground set against the backdrop of the River Wear and Baths Bridge.

Baths Bridge Opening Plaque

Happy birthday – we look forward to many more years of the Regatta and Baths Bridge, whatever form it may take in the future.