Greta Bridge, Keswick

Carrying the busy A66 between the M6 and Keswick is what is possibly the largest concrete span bridge in Cumbria, the Greta Bridge.

Four lanes of thundering traffic pass over this bridge everyday, however many motorists are unaware of the valley below or what an achievement it was to build it.

The structure, is said to have been designed purely by engineers with no architectural input and is renowned for its aesthetic qualities which ensure it blends well with the surrounding Lake District countryside.

Opened in 1977 Greta Bridge spans the River Greta and is sandwiched between the edge of the town of Keswick and the fells including Latrigg.

Passing underneath the bridge is the National Cycle network route 71.

This path and the associated Keswick railway footpath uses the old track bed of the Keswick railway which closed in 1972.

Construction began on the bridge in 1974 and forms part of the Keswick Northern Bypass project.

With five spans the 220m long structure sits on very tall pillars spanning the valley below.

It was one of the longest bridges of it’s type at the time.

The bridge is said to be one of the first structures to be designed using finite element analysis.

Leading Expert

One of the major structural engineers involved in the bridge design and in particular the use of pre-stressed concrete in road building was Roy Rowe.

He devised mathematical formulae to work out stresses and loads on concrete structures and was to become one of the leading experts in the use of concrete as a building material in civil engineering.

Roy Rowe died of heart disease on December 18, 2008, aged 79.

Proud

Writing in the NCE (New Civil Engineer) Mr. Peter Donaldson who was the structures Agent for the main contractor Tarmac Construction, says that the building of Greta Bridge was not without difficulty.

Mr Donaldson writes “In plan, the bridge follows a reverse curve which requires a constantly changing carriageway crossfall from one abutment to the other. In turn, this varying crossfall geometry is repeated in the cross sectional alignment of the deck itself, resulting in webs which, although apparently vertical, are actually at right angles to the deck soffit and upper slab”.

Mr Donalson was writing to the letters section of the New Civil Engineer in response to the announcement that the Great Bridge had been nominated as Britain’s best civil engineering structure of the century (NCE 4 November 1999).

Mr Donaldson adds ”  I think I can speak for all of us involved in its construction when I say that we remain immensely proud of what we achieved”

Award winning

In 1977 the bridge was awarded a Highly Commendation by the Concrete Society.

Readers of Concrete magazine however voted it Best Civil Engineering Structure of the Century in 1999.

Beverley Hughes MP, Minister for the Environment, unveiled a plaque, which is positioned beneath the bridge.

The Plaque reads:- ‘GRETA BRIDGE Voted Best Concrete Engineering Structure Of The Century September 1999 / Consulting Engineer : Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners / Contractor : Tarmac Construction / Maintained by The Highways Agency.

Other links

The urban morphology of Keswick

Location details from Google Maps      54.605880, -3.114635 +54° 36′ 21.17″, -3° 6′ 52.69″ Link:

Corpse Roads

Great Britain in the 15th and 16th Centuries was a place of many small parishes, some very rural and isolated.  Most of these villages did have their own church or chapel but they were linked to Mother churches or Minsters, which at this time were the only churches to have burial rights.

Increasing pressure for autonomy from outlying villages led officials at these Mother churches to be concerened over loss of control and income. Corpse roads were instituted, connecting outlying locations and their mother churches.

These corpse roads, death or Ley roads, usually went in straight lines from the parish to the mother church, which would seem to harken back to an age of pagan belief that a spirit can only travel in straight lines.

Corpses were transported long distances, often over difficult terrain, usually the coffin would be carried but sometimes the deceased would have the luxury of horseback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distinguishing features of a corpse road, would be that it went in more or less a straight line with resting places or coffin stones along its way (shown above at Frank’s Bridge in Kirkby Stephen).  Sometimes markers such as crosses or stones marking the distance would be present and can exist to this day.  Many seem only to be a footpath now with little or no evidence to support their previous purpose.

 

This boundary marker (we presume for the forest) is situated on a corpse road which passes over Whinlatter in the Lake District.

 

 

 

 

 

Fields crossed by corpse roads often had names like “Church-way” or “Kirk-way Field”, which can give a clue to the location of the old corpse road. These paths through fields were never ploughed.

According to the Encyclopaedia of Superstitions (E &,V M Radford, Hutchinson, 1948: edited and revised by Christina Dole, 1961). ”A very widespread belief, still far from extinct, is that if a corpse is carried over private land, its passage establishes a right of way for ever… but this has no actual foundation in English law”.

A great number of superstitions and Ghostly tales are linked to these roads… If you know of any, then send the details to us via the comments link below.

There is no official record of these roads but an interesting website belonging to The Society of Ley Hunters has compiled data from around the UK and further afield.

Historical Geographer, Paul Hindle, lectures on the subject of old maps, roads and tracks, and the Lake District. Limestone landscapes & caves, and towns & roads in medieval England.

For those interested in reading more; the following books may be of interest.

 

Brockhole

On the eastern banks of Windermere and set in acres of gardens is the Lake District National Park property called Brockhole.

Brockhole is approximately half way between Windermere and Ambleside.

For over 40 years Brockhole was the home of the Gaddum family.

Beatrix Potters cousin Edith, married merchant William Gaddum, a wealthy silk merchant from Manchester who built the house.

 In the 1940s it became a convalescent home, and since 1965 it has been the main Visitor Centre for the Lake District National Park.

The gardens

The ten acres of formal gardens were designed by Thomas Mawson over 100 years ago.  

Although the house is protected from development the gardens are Grade II-registered. 

Thomas Mawson died in November 1933 at Applegarth, Lancaster and is buried in Bowness Cemetery. He also designed gardens at nearby Holker Hall and those at Langdale Chase.

The temperate climate at Brockhole allows for many unusual or slightly tender plants to flourish alongside the shrub roses, herbaceous borders and the scented and wildflower gardens.

Twenty acres of informal grounds surround the house which, set high overlooking the gardens, offers commanding views out to the fells and mountains of the Lake District.

A number of pieces of art also scatter the grounds.  Some are in the form of free standing stone carvings and others are integral to the fabric of the grounds.

The Future

The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) is considering the options for the site, including demolishing the house and building a “genuine 21st century world class visitor attraction.”

According to the LDNPA the development will cost in the region of nearly £30m, and attract around 170,000 visitors a year bringing in around £100,000 in rents and profits share.

The Victorian Society is now hoping the historic and architectural importance of Brockhole will be enough to earn it listed status and protect the house from plans to knock it down.