Description and History of Site:-
Toll bridges are not very popular in this country. Those who use them feel aggrieved that the local inhabitants have not provided them with a bridge free of cost while the locals forget that their rates are lower than they might be.
Selby Toll Bridge is quite expensive to maintain. Not only does it carry a heavy road traffic but the River Ouse is alive with shipping which is difficult to manoeuvre and frequently damages the substructure and protective fendering. The bridge itself was reconstructed in 1970.
There was a ferry at this point for 700 years. Road traffic was modest being influenced by the volume of shipping proceeding upstream to York. Increasing traffic from Leeds to Abbots Staith spilled over to the Aire and Calder Navigation whose Selby Canal outlet opened in 1778 bringing considerably more trade to Selby.
A census on the ferry traffic in 1790 showed that in one year 105,000 pedestrians 75,000 horses, 30,000 farm animals and 500 vehicles were conveyed across the river. A report was commissioned from William Jessop on the possibility of a bridge and this was authorised in 1791 after an exhaustive enquiry into a host of local objections. Some of the technical stipulations arising from this enquiry are incorporated in the Act which explains why a 1970 bridge looks more like a 1790 one. In fact both road width and waterway opening have been improved. There is a model of the old bridge in the Science Museum, South Kensington.
Constructed in 1968-70 the present operational swing bridge carrying the A19 over the River Ouse at Selby is a modern replacement for an 18th century timber swing bridge. Its unusual construction combines a steel and timber deck with a timber substructure. Originally a toll bridge, it caused many years of road traffic congestion until the A63 Selby bypass opened in 2004. In September 1991, tolls were abolished after the bridge was purchased by Selby District Council and North Yorkshire County Council, aided by contributions from local businesses.

Further Reading and References:-
http://scs.statementcms.com/uploads/selby_civic_society/files/Roadbridgeqr.pdf
Bardey, M F. Civil engineering heritage: northern England. Thomas Telford, 1981, p 64, ICE HEW784
YAHS - Hatcher Card Index. Research funded by the Yorkshire Arts Association 1972.
Hatcher, J. The industrial architecture of Yorkshire. Phillimore, 1985.
Woolley, M V. Design and reconstruction of Selby Swing Bridge, Yorkshire, The Highway Engineer, Vol.20, No.1, pp.14-23, January 1973.

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Key Words :- road toll bridge river timber

Viewing the Site :- Can be viewed from the public highway

Address :- The Toll Bridge, Selby, North Yorkshire, YO8 5BP
Grid Ref :- SE 61731 32480
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.784992 , Long -1.064572
Local Authority :- Selby District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1792 -
Record Date :- 5 June 2015

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