12 June 1969: Saltburn Ha'penny Bridge

Time catches up with an elegant Victorian bridge with a panoramic view, soaring 150 foot across the deep, wooded glen of the Skelton Beck in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Originally named after the halfpenny toll that was required for pedestrians to cross it, Tyne Tees reporter Earle Bailey talks to toll keeper Bill Hyde about the new charge to use the Ha’Penny Bridge, and jokingly begs a free ride with the driver of a horse and cart who has been crossing it for 73 years.

The footbridge was developed by John Thomas Wharton of Skelton Castle to connect the new, prosperous town of Saltburn with Bank Top, hoping to profit from the sale of leasehold land he owned there. It was completed in 1869 at a cost of £7,500 and, after a tragic accident, the lives of three workmen. It is clear from this Today at Six news feature that the bridge doesn’t pay its way and never did. In 1969, it continues to operate through the generous subsidy of Mrs Ringrose-Wharton. The bridge survived for more than 100 years until, after decades of neglect by the local authority and despite the protests of local people, the beautiful but derelict structure was demolished with 42lbs of gelignite on 17 December 1974.