Kingsgate Bridge

---

title: "Kingsgate Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bridges-across-the-river-wear", "bridges-in-county-durham", "bridges-completed-in-1966", "ove-arup-buildings-and-structures", "grade-i-listed-bridges-in-england", "grade-i-listed-buildings-in-county-durham", "buildings-and-structures-in-durham,-england", "pedestrian-bridges-in-england", "recipients-of-civic-trust-awards", "1966-establishments-in-england", "buildings-and-structures-of-durham-university", "brutalist-architecture-in-north-east-england"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsgate_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]

Field	Value
bridge_name	Kingsgate Bridge
image	[[File:Dunelm House & Kingsgate Bridge.jpg
caption	Kingsgate bridge in front of Dunelm House
coordinates
os_grid_reference	NZ275421
carries	Pedestrians
crosses	River Wear
locale	Co. Durham
owner	Durham County Council
heritage	Grade I listed
architect	Ove Arup
designer	Ove Arup
engineering	Ove Arup & Partners
material	Reinforced concrete
mainspan	106.7 m
complete	1963
preceded	Elvet Bridge
followed	Prebends Bridge
::

| bridge_name = Kingsgate Bridge | image = [[File:Dunelm House & Kingsgate Bridge.jpg|300px]] | image_size = | alt = | caption = Kingsgate bridge in front of Dunelm House | official_name = | coordinates = | os_grid_reference = NZ275421 | carries = Pedestrians | crosses = River Wear | locale = Co. Durham | owner = Durham County Council | maint = | heritage = Grade I listed | id = | architect = Ove Arup | designer = Ove Arup | engineering = Ove Arup & Partners | design = | material = Reinforced concrete | length = | width = | height = | mainspan = 106.7 m | spans = | pierswater = | load = | clearance = | below = | life = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = | complete = 1963 | cost = | open = | inaugurated = | preceded = Elvet Bridge | followed = Prebends Bridge | references = | extra = Kingsgate Bridge is a reinforced concrete construction footbridge across the River Wear, in Durham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. It was personally designed in 1963 by Ove Arup, the last structure he ever designed. Kingsgate Bridge connects Bow Lane on the peninsula in the centre of Durham to Dunelm House on New Elvet, which building Arup's studio also contributed, and opened in 1966. Kingsgate Bridge is thought to have been one of Arup's favourite designs of all: he had spent many hours working on every detail of the plans.

Its construction was unusual; the two halves were each built parallel to the river, then rotated through 90° to make the crossing. The meeting point of the two halves is marked by a simple bronze expansion joint using a linear gear bearing.{{cite web |title=Durham Bridges: 1. Kingsgate Bridge |url=http://happypontist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/durham-bridges-1-kingsgate-bridge.html |date=28 November 2013 |website=The Happy Pontist

In 1965, the bridge was the winner of the Civic Trust Award.

In 1993, it won the Certificate of Outstanding Performance (Mature Structures Category) of the Concrete Society.

A bust of Arup, cast in resin, was installed on the side of Dunelm House, the students' union building adjacent to the bridge, in September 2011. The sculpture is a copy of a 1987 bust by Diana Brandenburger, held by the National Portrait Gallery. It is a replacement for a previous copy of the same bust, in bronze, which was unveiled by Karin Perry, Arup's daughter, on 16 April 2003, the 108th anniversary of Arup's birth, but which was stolen from its plinth during the summer of 2006.

In 2005, the bridge was adopted as a footpath by Durham County Council, making them responsible for its maintenance, although Durham University remain the owners.

During a university rag week in the late 1960s students suspended a car beneath the bridge.

Gallery

| title = Kingsgate Bridge | align = center | footer = | style = | state = | height = | width = | captionstyle = | File: Kingsgate_Bridge_-_view_of_deck_from_W.jpg | alt1= | Kingsgate Bridge view from deck | File: Dunelm-view.jpg | alt2= | Kingsgate Bridge seen from Durham Students' Union, the Cathedral above | File: | alt3= | Write a caption here | File: | alt4= | Write a caption here | File: | alt5= | Write a caption here

References

|River = River Wear |upstream = Elvet Bridge |downstream = Prebends Bridge |type = bridge |thisis = |upsub = |downsub = |location =

References

1. {{NHLE
2. (12 November 2020). "Concrete jungle: The brutalist buildings of northern England – in pictures". The Guardian.
3. (15 June 2000). "Plaque Commemorates Birth Place of Sir Ove Arup - Engineer and Philosopher". Arup.
4. (1996). "Civil engineering heritage". Thomas Telford.
5. "Kingsgate bridge". Arup.
6. "Sir Ove Arup and Durham". www.durhamcity.org.
7. "Kingsgate Bridge: Work Suspended". www.durham21.co.uk.
8. (28 September 2011). "World-renowned engineer Sir Ove Arup honoured with unveiling of new bust". Durham University.
9. [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?linkID=mp07793&rNo=0&role=art NPG 5968; Sir Ove Arup]
10. [http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk//display.var.1004780.0.statue_thieves_arup_to_no_good.php Statue thieves Arup to no good], [[The Northern Echo]], 6 November 2006
11. (19 December 2023). "Sixty years of Kingsgate Bridge".
12. (6 December 2024). "Students launch ‘Grit Kingsgate Bridge’ campaign". Palatinate.
13. "Image of car suspended beneath the bridge".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::