Wearmouth Bridge (1796)

Wearmouth Bridge
West View of Wearmouth Bridge, published 1798
Coordinates	54°54′36″N 1°22′58″W / 54.91°N 1.3828°W / 54.91; -1.3828
Characteristics
Design	Single span
Material	Cast iron
Total length	240 ft (73 m)
History
Designer	Thomas Paine
Constructed by	Thomas Wilson
Construction cost	£28,000
Opened	1796
Inaugurated	9 August 1796
Rebuilt	1857-1859
Demolished	1927-1929
Replaced by	Wearmouth Bridge
Location

The first Wearmouth Bridge was a bridge across the River Wear in Sunderland, England and the second major bridge to be made from cast iron. It was considered one of the wonders of the industrial age, and was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as being 'a triumph of the new metallurgy and engineering ingenuity [...] of superb elegance'.^[1]