This is a list of current bridges and other crossings of the River Swale in North Yorkshire, and are listed downstream to the river's mouth. The River Swale is listed on mapping as starting where Birkdale Beck meets Great Sleddale Beck. (). The river flows for about before joining the River Ure near Myton-on-Swale, and then later, the Ure becomes the River Ouse. The list below includes permanent bridges and crossings; structures such as the conveyor belt linking the different areas of Killerby Quarry east of Catterick village are not included. Several bridges have been removed, notably railway bridges, such as the one which used to carry the Leeds & Thirsk Railway over the river just to the north of Topcliffe.
Hoggarth's Bridge was a two-arched structure which crossed the River Swale above Wain Wath Force, and it was swept away in 1899; its replacement, High Bridge, was built slightly downstream of the predecessor. The bridge at Gunnerside was swept away in a flood in 1890, and the suspension bridge at Reeth, first installed in 1925, was swept away in flooding in the year 2000. Flash floods are known on the river with the bridge at Grinton sometimes being flooded to a depth of so that only the tops of the bridge parapets can be seen in the floodwater.
As with other river locations in Northern England, especially in the old North Riding of Yorkshire, many bridges were built at the locations of fords across the river. One example of this is Scabba Wath Bridge. Wath comes from the Old Norse vað meaning ford.
Crossings
Crossing Location Type Co-ordinates Date openedListing NotesPhotoStone House BridgeStone HouseTrack IIEast Firs BridgeEast FirsTrack IIHigh BridgeWhitsun DaleRoad N/AHoggarth's Bridge, built was swept away in a flood in 1899. High Bridge was built a few years later in a position to the east of the old bridge. This is the furthest upstream public bridge on the Swale, the others being private.Low BridgeKeldRoad N/APark BridgeKeldRoad N/APennine WayKeldFoot N/AUp until a flood in 1899, a packhorse bridge stood on this site.FootbridgeCrackpot HallFoot N/ARampsholme BridgeIveletFoot N/AThe older bridge here was also washed away in the 1899 flood.Ivelet BridgeIveletRoad Late 16th centuryII*Just to the north of the bridge is a coffin stone (a place to rest coffins) as it was on the Corpse Way between Muker and Grinton. Pevsner described it as the "..most romantic of the Swaledale bridges..."Gunnerside BridgeGunnersideRoad 1892N/ASeveral bridges have been built here, the previous bridge washed away in a flood in January 1890.Isles BridgeRoad N/AScabba Wath BridgeLow RowRoad Mid 19th centuryIIReeth Swing BridgeReethFoot 2002N/AThe original structure was built in 1920; prior to this, the site was the location of stepping stones. The first bridge was swept away in a flood in September 2000, and is also known as Reeth Swing Bridge, though technically it is a suspension bridge.Grinton BridgeGrintonRoad (B6270) IIDownholme BridgeDownholmeRoad 1674II*Also known as Marske New Bridge.Lownethwaite BridgeRoad (A6108) 1837N/ARichmond Howe bridgeRichmondFoot N/AGreen BridgeRichmondRoad 1789II*Mercury BridgeRichmondRoad (A6136) 1846IIRailway bridgeEasbyRailway 1846N/AUnnamed bridgeColburnFoot N/AAgricola A1(M) bridgeBrompton-on-SwaleRoad 2018N/AReplaced a structure from the original Catterick Bypass of 1959.Catterick Military Railway bridgeBrough with St GilesFoot 1922N/AOpened as a railway bridge to serve Catterick Garrison, closed in 1970, but now functions as a foot and pipeline crossingCatterick BridgeCatterickRoad (A6136) 1422II*Before the stone bridge was built, a wooden bridge was in use to the west of the current bridge. Between 1915 and 1922, the bridge carried the Great North Road and the early Catterick Military Railway.Great Langton BridgeGreat LangtonRoad N/AMorton railway bridgeMorton-on-SwaleRailway 1848N/AA four-span plate girder bridge on stone piersMorton BridgeMorton-on-SwaleRoad (A684) 1803IIRailway bridgeMaunbyRailway 1852N/ALattice girder bridge built by the Leeds Northern Railway.Skipton BridgeSkipton-on-SwaleRoad (A61) 1781IITopcliffe bridgeTopcliffeRoad (A167) 1622SMBypass bridgeTopcliffeRoad (A168) 1977N/AThornton BridgeThornton BridgeRoad1865II River Swale bridgeBraffertonRailway1847N/ASkew bridge of three arches, some in length. Built wide enough () to accommodate two tracks, but only one was ever installed. Last train ran in 1964.FootbridgeBraffertonFootUnknownN/AMyton BridgeMyton-on-SwaleRoad1868IIIron single span bridge, restored in 2002.
References
Sources