Description and History of Site:-
In 1870 Theophania Blackett of Sockburn Hall had to build a new bridge at Girsby. This was a requirement for settling a long running lawsuit concerning the ownership of a timber bridge giving access to Sockburn Hall from the south. The Blackett family had claimed that this bridge which they had maintained was private and reserved for use by themselves and their tenants with their permission. After two years of litigation they were allowed to have the exclusive use of the Sockburn Bridge provided an alternative bridge was built for public use hence the bridge at Girsby. The Girsby bridge has five 15.77m spans with bowstring girders of wrought iron carrying a concrete deck laid over buckle plates and supported by cast iron trestles set in the bed of the river. The designer was Thomas Dyke a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers who lived at West Hartlepool.

Further Reading and References:-
Morris, C H. Bridges over the Tees. Research Report No 7. Cleveland Industrial Archaeology Society, 2000.

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Key Words :- river road bridge bowstring

Address :- Girsby, Darlington, North Yorkshire, DL2 1PP
Grid Ref :- NZ 3519 0826
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.468496 , Long -1.458562
Local Authority :- Richmondshire District Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - North Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1870 -
Record Date :- 19 January 2016

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Charles Morris