We stopped at Chollerford on Saturday for lunch after visiting Chesters Roman Fort. The village is on the Military Road which crosses the River North Tyne at this point. Previously a medieval bridge stood here but the flood of 1771, which also swept away the medieval Tyne Bridge between Newcastle and Gateshead, put an end to it. The bridge we see now was built in the mid 1770s. It is not wide enough for two lanes of modern traffic so it has a single lane and traffic lights.
The Chollerford Bridge has survived history, unlike its sister at Newcastle. The replacement bridge there was itself demolished in the mid Victorian period to make way for the Swing Bridge which allowed ships to pass up river to the Armstrong factories, armament works and shipyards at Elswick. Chollerford on the other hand remained rural - and peaceful.
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