Aldwark Bridge

Aldwark Bridge is a historic bridge over the River Ure in North Yorkshire, in England. Until the mid-18th century, a ferry connected the two banks of the river at Aldwark. The ferryman in 1768 was John Thomson, and that year, he rode to London to seek permission to construct a bridge, in exchange for collecting tolls. This was granted in the Aldwark Bridge Act 1772 (12 Geo. 3. c. 87), and the bridge opened in 1772. It originally had brick piers and a wooden deck. In 1848, it was described as "a substantial wooden structure, which crosses the river and its banks by twenty-seven arches and culverts". A local legend claims that it was once damaged by an iceberg. In 1880, the central section of the bridge was destroyed during a flood, and the bridge was largely rebuilt, using an iron frame. By 1962, the bridge was owned by Yorkshire Farmers Ltd. The company offered to sell it to the North Riding of Yorkshire County Council, but the council was uninterested, and it remained in private hands. It remains a toll bridge, thought to be the last one wholly in Yorkshire since the fee for crossing Selby toll bridge was abolished in 1991. The toll can only be increased by permission of the Secretary of State for Transport; it was doubled to one penny in 1980, while in 2005, it rose from 15p to 40p. The bridge was purchased by Alex Bell in 2021. In 2022, permission was refused to increase the toll to 80p. In January 2025, Bell announced his intention to raise the toll from 40p to £1, with a future hike to £1.40 scheduled for 2035. The increase was criticised by local teachers who feared the increased cost would prevent children living on one side of the bridge from attending school on the other side. A public enquiry into the fee increase was held in Easingwold in March 2025, and the increase was agreed. The bridge was grade II listed in 1988. The bridge was used by 700,000 vehicles over the course of 1997. It closed in April 2023 for maintenance. The bridge reopened on 17…