Dunham Bridge

Until the bridge was built and opened in 1832, the crossing of the river was by Dunham Ferry. This was an important crossing of the Trent. It was used by King William III in 1695 when he was met at Dunham by the Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1814, the fare was reported at half a crown. The bridge was established in the 1830s, under the powers of the (11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. lxvi), when a group of local businessmen organised the original four-span, cast-iron construction by the civil engineer, George Leather (1786–1870). The first person to cross the bridge was Eliza Woolas of Laneham, who used a sixteen-inch batten to span the remaining gap on a Sunday – presumably when no workmen were…