15/06/2026
Happy 150th birthday to the Swing Bridge! Officially opened to road traffic on this day in 1876 - it was the first of its kind in the world!
Powered using the hydraulic system designed by the famous Geordie inventor and engineer, Sir William George Armstrong, the bridge itself was also designed and paid for by Armstrong too.
The Swing Bridge was built to replace the old stone Tyne Bridge which was too low to allow passage to large ships. The Swing Bridge pivots on a central pier, this allowed larger ships to pass through and access Armstrong's manufacturing yards located along the bank of the River Tyne from where his sought after machinery, in an ever growing demand, was shipped worldwide.
The first vessel to pass through the Swing Bridge was the Italian cargo ship, Europa. Arriving on the River Tyne to collect one of Armstrong's 100-ton guns to take back to Italy. To further emphasise the global reach of Armstrong's technology, when it arrived back in Italy, the gun was unloaded using an Elswick-built 180-ton hydraulic crane, the largest lifting machine of its kind in the world.
The last time it swung was in 2019, however there has been some whispers that efforts to restore the bridge back to its former glory and get it swinging again are being considered!
Who would like to see the Swing Bridge swing again?
