Mathematical Bridge

The Mathematical Bridge is a wooden footbridge in the southwest of central Cambridge, England. It bridges the River Cam about one hundred feet northwest of Silver Street Bridge and connects two parts of Queens' College. Its official name is simply the Wooden Bridge or Queens' Bridge. It is a Grade II listed building. The bridge was designed by William Etheridge, and built by James Essex in 1749. It has been rebuilt on two occasions, in 1866 and in 1905, but has kept the same overall design. Although it appears to be an arch, it is composed entirely of straight timbers built to an unusually sophisticated engineering design, hence the name. A replica of the bridge was built in 1923 near the Iffley Lock in Oxford. The original Mathematical Bridge was another bridge of the same design, also commissioned by James Essex, crossing the Cam between Trinity and Trinity Hall colleges, where Garret Hostel Bridge now stands.