Vauxhall Bridge, Great Yarmouth

   2010

Mrs. Kiki, who has run the famous Seafood Restaurant on North Quay with her husband Chris for 30 years, has managed a brave campaign for the last nine years to save Vauxhall Bridge, a Grade II Listed Building of Architectural and Historic Interest.   Her property looks over the bridge and she is acutely aware of its heritage and potential aesthetic value.   She believes it should be preserved and smartened up as a proud testament to Great Yarmouth’s industrial past and a unique historical welcome to visitors on their arrival at the station.

Yarmouth Vauxhall Station, now Great Yarmouth Station, served the line to Norwich through Reedham opened up by the Norfolk Railway in 1844, one of the first railways in the county to open. The station was separated from the two other stations in the town by the River Bure. Vauxhall Bridge was opened in 1852, seven years after the fatal collapse of a former suspension bridge across the River Bure, when 79 people, mostly children, drowned.

The new iron bridge was a Fairbairn-type box girder construction. The box girder is the structure at body level as you walk across the footbridge. Fairbairn was involved with Robert Stephenson, son of the locomotive pioneer George Stephenson, and Eaton Hodgkinson in the design of the Britannia Railway Bridge over the Menai Straits. His innovative work on that bridge led to the introduction of the box girder for railway bridges, most from that period now demolished as loadings have increased or lines been closed. The Vauxhall Bridge in Great Yarmouth is a rare survivor. It was built in two sections, one side for the tramway run by Yarmouth Union Railway as a one mile long connecting line to the other stations and the fish wharfs on South Quay, and the other for foot passengers and horse drawn traffic.

   1985

A further claim to fame is that it is one of only two such bridges to be strengthened by alteration to its structural form in the 19th Century. Arched ribs were added in 1886 rising above the box girders for added strength, with vertical iron rods supporting the girders from the arches. These elegant bows strengthened the bridge for locomotives run by the Great Eastern Railway in the 1880s. The design and erection of the new structure around the old one would have been very innovative and challenging at the time. The other strengthened bridge was a suspension bridge in Erith in Cambridgeshire, which was converted to a lenticular truss but has since been demolished.

As Vauxhall Bridge is the only one of its kind now existing in this country, it is of real historical importance as an outstanding piece of industrial architecture. It is Grade II listed and registered at the Institute of Civil Engineers as historical engineering work 0391. Peter Cross-Rudkin, author and civil engineer, who is writing a book on Civil Engineering Heritage in East Anglia, has described it as a monument of the 1st rank.

In 1976 the railway line from the station to North and South Quays was closed but people could still drive over until 22nd February 1988, when it was closed to vehicle access. It has since been used as a footbridge only to Great Yarmouth station from North Quay.

The bridge is now owned by Railway Paths, a sister charity to Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity (www.sustrans.org.uk). Sustrans were asked to produce structural survey when the Civic Trust, Great Yarmouth Town Centre Strategy Report “Station Gateway” was being compiled in 2001. There is no mention of the bridge in its East of England Strategic Plan for 2009-13, however Sustrans says it is keen to support redevelopment of the area, though “there is still much to be done”.

The Station Gateway proposal warned against failure to attend to the structural instability of the current bridge. It was foreseen that there was a risk of the station becoming isolated from the town centre. By the time that the GYBC Runham Vauxhall Regeneration Project reported on the station gateway the bridge was seen to pose a low level hazard to sailing vessels as well as pedestrians (an eight berth boat became wedged under the Grade II listed structure close to Yarmouth yacht station at 11am after trying to negotiate it during high tides on the 13th May 2010). Another factor mitigating against preservation of the bridge is that Box girder structures are difficult to maintain, because of the need for access to a confined space inside the box. A workman in 1910 working inside the box was overcome by fumes and had to be cut out.

However, Philip Watkins, Chief Executive of 1st East, pledged his support for the restoration of the bridge, describing it as a “little gem that needs polishing”. The bridge now forms an important part of the plans to link the station with a regenerated North Quay and town centre. Regarding improvements to the area around the station in the Great Yarmouth URC Area Action Plan, Preferred Option, 2007, it states “Pedestrian and cycle linkages need to be upgraded, to provide new, enhanced links to the Conge and the Market Place, ideally through the restoration of the old railway bridge.”

See http://www.1steast.co.uk/downloads/GreatYarmouthAAPJan.pdf

Thanks to Mrs. Kiki, David Wardale, Norfolk County Council Project Engineer, was introduced to the plight of the bridge and he has secured £300,000 funding from the Lottery Fair Share Trust, ringfenced until this year. There is yet much work to do however to secure the bridge for the future and to improve the landscape around the site.

Living Streets, a charity which represents pedestrians, is now also backing the campaign:  see http://www.eastcoastlive.co.uk/news/info.php?refnum=2234

Anybody able or willing to offer support for this campaign to save the bridge, please email here. Comments very welcome (click on “comments” in title bar and comments box will open).

References

EDP Wed 2.12.09

EDP Thur 3.9.10

EDP Frid 30.10.09

EDP 25.01.10

Great Yarmouth Mercury 07.05.10

http://www.berneyarms.co.uk/html/yarmouth/rail/quay/quay.htm

Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival

This year’s festival, which takes place at the Priory Centre, near St.Nicholas Church, is not to be missed.  Apart from the tempting selection of 120 beers and ciders to choose from, there is live entertainment in the evenings:

Thursday 27th May, Tosh, folk singer and songwriter will be performing during the evening session 17.00-23.00 hrs. admission £3

Friday, 28th May, Lorebreakers, Irish Folk Rock,  performing in the evening, admission £4

Saturday, 29th May, Pete Kiwi Keegan, skiffle,  performing in the evening, admission £4

Sunday, 30th May, Eastern Straynotes, jazz,  performing in the evening, admission £3

Daytime sessions are from 11.00-15.00 hrs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, admission £2 except Saturday when admission is £3.

The festival is organised by Blackfriars Brewery and the Town Centre Partnership.  Snacks will be available throughout from the Priory Cafe.   Click  here for the Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival website.

2010 Tour of Britain

Norfolk will be hosting the county’s largest ever live sporting spectacle, the Tour of Britain cycle race on Thursday 16th September. Specific location timings will be announced at a later date, but the race will begin from the Market Place, King’s Lynn and end on South Beach Parade in Great Yarmouth, having covered one hundred and seventeen miles of the county’s roads.

As the UK’s biggest professional bicycle race and a centrepiece of the British sporting calendar the event will receive massive media coverage in the UK, and around the world, presenting a major opportunity  for Norfolk artists, arts and cultural organisations to profile their work, promote special events and encourage new audiences. A website including dedicated pages and links for each district area is in development. To find out more about what is being planned in your local area and how you can get involved contact Fiona Roberts, Tour of Britain Manager for Norfolk : fiona.roberts@norfolk.gov.uk

Free blog training

Free Training Session

Friday,  4^th June 2010, 10.00-13.00 hrs, Lecture Hall at Great Yarmouth Central Library

As part of the Transitions Project, funded by Awards for All, ARC Artists Group are offering  free training on how to create a blog, upload images and post to an interactive website like EastCoastNet.  Assistance will also be available on how to make the most of the archives at the library for research purposes.  One hour training slots will run from 10.00, 11.00 and 12.00 hrs. Anybody interested is welcome to drop in but numbers are limited for each training session, so to book a place please email to eastcoastnet@btinternet.com or phone Bridget on 01493 602698.

Meeting on 24th May

I am new to the group and was wondering what time the meeting at Winterton on 24th May starts?

Gorleston Theatre Company

Gorleston Theatre Company is looking for new members who can be involved in the company in many different ways, both on and off stage.  The Company aims to put on three productions a year, their most recent being the highly acclaimed Rent performed at Gorleston Pavilion.  Contact the Chairman Mike Coleman on 07925 413854 or for more information on Gorleston Theatre Company click here.

Great Yarmouth Night of the Museums

  The Tolhouse Museum

On Saturday 15th May, 2010,  visitors will have free access to all of Great Yarmouth’s museums from 6-10 p.m. Town Guides will be on hand to walk visitors between the museums while telling fascinating – and eerie – tales of old Yarmouth. This year, all of Yarmouth’s museums will be taking part in the event, which is jointly organised by the institutions involved. Special events taking place include music and circus activities at the Time and Tide Museum,  meet the gaolor at the Tolhouse, outdoor live entertainment at the Row Houses, sailor’s games at the Nelson Museum and much more.  Refreshments will be available at the Silver Darlings cafe at the Time and Tide.  For more information on the museums click on the following links:

English Heritage Great Yarmouth Row Houses

Elizabethan House Museum

Norfolk Nelson Museum

Time and Tide Museum     

Tolhouse Museum

Creative Consultation with Young People

Artsplan, the training and publications department of Artswork and in-house training provider for ENYAN  (English National Youth Arts Network), is delivering the one day course ‘Creative Consultation with Young People’ on 24th June 2010, 9.45 am- 4 pm, at The Garage in Norwich.

This one-day creative workshop has been developed in partnership with a range of organisations across 9 English regions who have submitted case studies demonstrating creative consultation techniques they have used with young people. The course is therefore suitable for anyone who is looking to consult with young people through engagement in creative participatory activities.

All participants will receive a certificate of attendance upon successful completion of the course and a wealth of practical resources. Prices for each course, which include lunch and refreshments, range from £110 to £150, with limited bursaries available. Please also remember that ENYAN members can request a 5% discount on all Artsplan publications and training!

For more information or to book a place, please contact the Artsplan Team via: mailto://artsplan@artswork.org.uk or call 02380 682535.  To subscribe to ENYAN visit www.enyan.co.uk

Michelle Payne at the Courtyard Gallery

Books about artists in East Anglia

OPEN CALL FOR ENTRIES  Deadline: 15 July 2010

Following the popularity of  The Artist in Our Midst series of books, Green Pebble are planning a new series celebrating the living artists who so richly depict the people and scenes of East Anglia. The first book in the new series will be on the People of East Anglia and is due to be published this year.

These books will represent a permanent record reflecting the skill, perspicacity and sensitivity of our local artists. The reader will be able to observe life as seen through an artist’s eyes, engage with the artists’ perspective and empathise with the subject; our heritage as created and captured by our artistic neighbours.

If you are a professional artist with strong ties to East Anglia and have produced work on the people or scenes of East Anglia, you may qualify for inclusion in the book. Selection will be curated and a modest fee will apply.

For more details, please email mailto://michael@greenpebble.co.uk for an information pack. Please make the subject of your email “As the artist sees – people” or “As the artist sees – place”.