Stamp of approval for Britain’s great bridges

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED’S Royal Border Bridge is one of ten of Britain’s great bridges featured on first-class stamps launched by Royal Mail this month. 

The Bridges issue aims to celebrate the leaps in engineering that have seen the UK’s bridges evolve from primitive stone crossings to dramatic and symbolic landmarks.

Crossing the River Tweed between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth, the Royal Border Bridge was constructed between 1847 and 1850 to the design by Robert Stephenson. It was a key component in Britain’s expanding railway system, linking London to Edinburgh.

Of traditional masonry construction, the bridge is essentially a railway viaduct formed of 28 semi-circular-headed arches.

The other bridges featured on the stamps include the Menai Suspension Bridge, the Humber Bridge, and Bath’s Pulteney Bridge, built in 1774 and one of only four bridges in the world to have shops across its full span on both sides.

Andrew Hammond, head of Stamps and Collectibles at Royal Mail, said: ‘The story of Britain’s engineering genius can be found in its bridges. These new stamps celebrate ten beautiful and ground-breaking landmarks that span centuries of our history.’


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