Sandwich Toll Bridge

Sandwich Toll Bridge is a Grade II listed road swing bridge over the River Stour in Sandwich, Kent. It opened in 1755 on a site that had been a crossing for centuries, and has had several iterations; the current is a swing bridge that opened in 1892. Tolls were abolished in 1977.

View from the east in 2019

The bridge has been part of the A256 road, a major route across east Kent. This became a significant traffic bottleneck, until a bypass opened in 1981.

History

Early history
View of the toll gate towards the town

A plaque on the bridge indicates there has been a tolled crossing, originally a ferry, in this rough location since 1127.[1] The crossing forms part of a former turnpike road from Sandwich to the Isle of Thanet that has existed since the late 14th century.[2] A customs house was built at the southern edge of the crossing during Edward IV's reign.[3] The ferry route was frequently dangerous and difficult, and the Mayor of Sandwich petitioned Parliament to have a permanent bridge installed.[4]

Sandwich Bridge Act 1755
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long titleAn Act for building a Bridge over the Water, or Haven, between the Town of Sandwich and the opposite Shore in the County of Kent.
Citation28 Geo. 2. c. 55
Dates
Royal assent25 April 1755

The original bridge was authorised by the Sandwich Bridge Act 1755 and opened that year.[3] The total cost was £1,000, of which £600 was publicly funded with the remainder coming from the Corporation of Sandwich.[4] It was rebuilt in 1773 from Portland Stone with a timber raised platform.[5][6] A table of tolls is displayed on the side of the adjacent Barbican Gate to the south.[2] A new wooden bridge was constructed in 1856, followed by a three-arch iron swing bridge in 1892, to allow river traffic to pass through.[4][5][7] The reconstruction supported stone arches at the north and south ends.[5] The bridge supports the town's coat of arms on its side.[8]

Modern history
The bridge holds a crest of the town's coat of arms

The bridge formed part of the original route of the A256, a major road along the East Kent coast from Dover to Thanet. In 1962, the toll was 1 shilling (5p) for cars and 1/3 (6¼p) - 1/6 (7½p) for goods vehicles.[9] By 1965, it had become a significant bottleneck on the A256 as it could only carry a single lane of motor traffic and was the only crossing of the Stour in the local area.[10] A petition for a bypass was signed by 3,000 residents.[11] In 1973, a fund was set up to use excess monies from tolls to pay for local infrastructure.[12]

The bridge was Grade II listed in 1976.[5] Tolls were abolished the following year, with the final one being collected by the Mayor Councillor on 30 September.[2][1] A bypass of Sandwich opened in 1981, taking traffic away from the bridge, yet it continued to attract congestion as it was used as a rat run.[13]

In 2018, the bridge began to suffer reliability problems.[14] While Kent County Council were investigating repairs, on 9 June 2019, the bridge was stuck open after shipping vessel passed through. Following emergency work, it reopened on 24 June.[15] The bridge was expected to close again in February 2020 to all traffic, including pedestrians, but this was postponed.[16][17] The repairs eventually began in September 2020, closing the bridge for 11 weeks, costing the council half a million pounds. Further maintenance, installing a bespoke gearbox on the bridge, continued the following year.[18]

References
  1. "Plaque on Sandwich Toll Bridge". Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. Heritage Strategy Appendix 1 : Historic Roads, Routes and Lanes (PDF). Dover Borough Council (Report). p. 13. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. Hasted, Edward (1800). The town and port of Sandwich. pp. 152–216. Retrieved 10 February 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. "Pictures of Sandwich Toll Bridge through the years as town prepares for reopening after 11 week closure". Kent Online. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  5. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1343735)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. "Tools". Hansard. 9 December 1968. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  7. Preston, James (2017). Kent's Transport Heritage. Amberley. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-445-66992-2.
  8. "Smart new bridge reinstated over River Stour". Kent Online. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  9. "Toll Bridges and Roads". Hansard. 23 February 1962. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  10. "Traffic Congestions (South East Kent)". Hansard. 3 December 1965. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  11. "Sandwich Bypass". Hansard. 19 May 1965. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  12. "Sandwich Toll Bridge Fund". Sandwich Town Council. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  13. Sandwich Green Paper (PDF). Faversham Town Council (Report). June 2015. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  14. "Removal of Sandwich Tollbridge over River Stour could spell disaster over the summer". Kent Online. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  15. "This is when Sandwich Tollbridge will reopen - but more work is still required". Kent News. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  16. "Sandwich Toll Bridge (Prohibition of Driving) Temporary Order 2020". Kent County Council. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  17. "Sandwich Toll Bridge works postponed due to A256 pipe issues". Kent Online. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  18. "Sandwich Toll Bridge to close for installation of bespoke gearbox part after 11 week closure in September". Kent Online. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.

51°16′33″N 1°20′32″E

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