The Skerne Bridge S&DR Hamper

Description

The Skerne Bridge was originally going to be designed and constructed under the supervision of George Stephenson but his design ran into trouble. So, the Stockton & Darlington Railway Committee brought in Ignatius Bonomi to design the bridge instead. Bonomi was the County Architect for Durham but he had never built a railway bridge with such constant and weighty traffic. It was perhaps no surprise therefore that the bridge embankments started to show signs of weakness within three years of the railway being opened. The bridge was strengthened by John Carter in 1829 who was the S&DR’s part time inspector of works and building designer. Carter was already familiar with the bridge having acted as the S&DR’s inspector during the original building works and he was a stone mason by profession. He introduced curved flank walls to help support the embankments and created the distinctive design that is seen on early paintings. These curved flank walls were also replaced in the late 19th or early 20th century presumably to further help the bridge cope with the heavier traffic still being hauled along the line. It was also widened about the same time. The bridge remains in use today and is the oldest, continuously used railway bridge in the world. 

(Products revised July 2023)

A Skerne Bridge tea towel

A box of Stockton & Darlington Railway Choo Chews (assorted toffees and fudge). The box is decorated with John Wigston’s ‘A New Era Dawns’ featuring Locomotion No.1 (1825), the Royal George (1827) and Victory (1829) in steam outside Hackworth’s House in Shildon on the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

A bar of train milk chocolate.

A Skerne Bridge Tin Mug.

A Skerne Bridge bamboo key ring

The bag: The sturdy hessian bag which holds your goodies measures 25cm wide x 21cm high (excluding handles) and 14cm deep and features the S&DR 1825 logo on one side. The hamper comes with a small S&DR certificate and a card luggage tag for your message (let us know at the checkout if you would like us to write something on the luggage label card).[/learn_more]