Andrew Handyside Ltd of Derby who made Friargate bridge made hundreds of bridges around the world of all sizes and styles, this is one such bridge which was made 5 years before Friargate bridge.
Rigmaden Bridge, Cumbria, UK built 1872
This is a single lane road bridge over the river Lune, west of Rigmaden in Cumbria and is Grade II listed. This bridge was built for the Rigmaden estate around 1872.
A total of 52 1/2 Tons of ironwork was shipped from Derby's Britannia foundry to the banks of the river Lune for assembly of this bridge.
It carried people and vehicles for almost 150 years but was closed in December 2021 after a structural assessment found it to be unsafe for pedestrians and vehicles.
In August 2025 the Department of transport committed £370,000 to the repair and strengthening of the Rigmaden bridge but apparently this is a tenth of what is needed to carry out the work.
I think its still not been repaired yet as of March 2026.
My sources :
Page 159 Example No 27 Works in Iron - Bridge and Roof Structures by Ewing Matheson of the firm Andrew Handyside and Co., Engineers, Derby and London. Published by E & F.N. Spon 1873.
This bridge has a 116' single span which is 12' 6" wide. The vertical struts in the main girders are of wrought iron.
The abutments are of stone, and the girders rest on cast iron bed-plates, planned to allow the girders to move, in case of expansion and contraction.
The bottom flange is composed of tie bars 9" by 13/16th". The top flange of wrought iron girder 1' 7" deep and 12" wide.
The roadway is composed of ordinary metalling on arched wrought-iron plates.
The weight of the two main girders is 16 tons, The cross girders 5 1/2 ton, The platform 20 tons and other ironwork is 11 tons.
I only found this bridge recently after seeing it in my 1873 book, great to see its still standing over 150 years later even if its not being used for its intended purpose at the moment.
Rigmaden is a hamlet in Mansergh Civil Parish, Cumbia in North West England.
Google Streetview of the bridge shows it as open in April 2009 and closed in the June 202 and April 2024 views.
I hope to see this bridge open again sometime in the future as Im sure the locals would too as they have to do a 40 minute detour.
Hope you found this post of interest.
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