Exeter Bridge - Derby
Encyclopedia
Exeter Bridge is a Traffic Single Span Concrete Arch Bridge in the centre of Derby
spanning the River Derwent
200 metres south of the more modern Cathedral Green Footbridge
.
, in order to access their gardens on the other side of the River Derwent . This was how the bridge got its name and Exeter House was eventually demolished because of cost but also to allow improvements to this bridge. It was demolished in 1929 and replaced by a single span concrete bridge designed by Charles Herbert Aslin of the City Architect's Department, who was also responsible for Derby's now demolished Art Deco
Style Bus Station.
During construction a test was carried out to see if it would hold the weight of the traffic. Civil Engineers ran a procession of traction engines, steam rollers and heavy lorries across the bridge to see if it could take the strain.
It was officially opened by the minister of transport, Herbert Morrison
on March 13 1931.
Exeter Bridge features Bas relief sculptures of .
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
spanning the River Derwent
River Derwent, Derbyshire
The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....
200 metres south of the more modern Cathedral Green Footbridge
Cathedral Green Footbridge - Derby
The Cathedral Green Footbridge is a pedestrian & cycle swing bridge in the centre of Derby spanning the River Derwent. It forms a third side to a triangle between The Cathedral & the Silk Mill Museum....
.
History
Derby's original Exeter Bridge started life as a timber footbridge built by the Binghams of Exeter HouseExeter House
Exeter House was an early 17th century brick-built mansion, which stood in Full Street, Derby until demolished in 1854. Named for the Earls of Exeter, whose family owned the property until 1757, the house was notable for the stay of Charles Edward Stuart during the Jacobite Rising of 1745...
, in order to access their gardens on the other side of the River Derwent . This was how the bridge got its name and Exeter House was eventually demolished because of cost but also to allow improvements to this bridge. It was demolished in 1929 and replaced by a single span concrete bridge designed by Charles Herbert Aslin of the City Architect's Department, who was also responsible for Derby's now demolished Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Style Bus Station.
During construction a test was carried out to see if it would hold the weight of the traffic. Civil Engineers ran a procession of traction engines, steam rollers and heavy lorries across the bridge to see if it could take the strain.
It was officially opened by the minister of transport, Herbert Morrison
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
on March 13 1931.
Exeter Bridge features Bas relief sculptures of .
- John LombeJohn LombeJohn Lombe was a silk spinner in the 18th century Derby, England.-Biography:Lombe was born in Norwich in approximately 1693, the son of a worsted weaver...
, founder of the Silk Mill MuseumDerby Industrial MuseumDerby Silk Mill, formerly known as Derby Industrial Museum, is a museum of industry and history in Derby, England. The museum is housed in Lombe's Mill, a historic former silk mill which marks the southern end of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Between 1717 and 1721 George Sorocold...
one of England's first modern factories, now a World Heritage site.
- William Hutton, worked at the Silk Mill as a child before becoming a bookseller and writing the first published history of Derby in 1791.
- Herbert SpencerHerbert SpencerHerbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
, born in Exeter Street, best known for coining the concept "survival of the fittestSurvival of the fittest"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase originating in evolutionary theory, as an alternative description of Natural selection. The phrase is today commonly used in contexts that are incompatible with the original meaning as intended by its first two proponents: British polymath philosopher Herbert...
", which he did in Principles of Biology (1864), after reading Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's On the Origin of Species.
- Erasmus DarwinErasmus DarwinErasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
, Physician, botanist and poet, Darwin lived in Derby for the last 20 years of his life, dying at Breadsall Priory. Like Hutton he was a radical thinker, supporting the American RevolutionAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.