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C O N T E X T 1 7 9 : M A R C H 2 0 2 4 33 HADRIAN’S WALL MARK DOUGLAS Union Chain Bridge: crossing the border Renovating a structure that is listed both Category A in Scotland and Grade I in England depended on effective cross-border cooperation in planning, funding and construction. The Union Chain Bridge, the world’s oldest vehicular suspension bridge, crosses both the River Tweed and the national border between Scotland and England, which runs up the centre of the river. Lying about five miles upstream of Berwick-upon-Tweed, it was designed by Captain Sir Samuel Brown, who had originally made chains for the Royal Navy and later developed the use of iron chain links for suspension bridges.1 With a span of 137 metres between pylons, the bridge was opened in 1820 after less than a year of construction work, at a cost of £7,700, for the Berwick and Durham Turnpike Trust. It was completed fully six years before Thomas Telford’s Menai and Conwy suspen- sion bridges, which were both opened in 1826. The Scottish pylon is the oldest free-standing road suspension bridge pylon in the world. The corresponding support on the English side is formed as a masonry facade built against the cliff face, originally incorporating a toll house. It operated as a toll bridge until 1883, when responsibility for it was vested with the Tweed Bridges Trust. In more recent years it has been maintained by a partnership between Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council. It forms part of the Tweed Cycleway and provides a convenient crossing point for local light traffic. The bridge is listed Category A in Scotland and Grade I in England. Repair and maintenance work has included timber bridge deck renewals on at least five occasions since it was originally completed, most recently in 1993. Supplementary suspension cables were added in 1903 (and subsequently removed as part of the current project). There has been a weight limit of 2 tonnes since 1950 and there is a width limit reinforced by solid (and much paint-scarred) stone bollards. Some of the link units had been replaced over the years, and all the hangers had been replaced in 1870 – and again some more recently. A bridge inspection, which resulted in a conservation management plan in 2010, noted a number of failures of suspension hangers and deterioration of the protective paint finishes. The need for an overall strategy of major repairs and interven- tions was clearly indicated. 1 Samuel Brown also designed a smaller vehicular suspension bridge in the Scottish Borders over the Teviot Water at Kalemouth near Kelso, completed in about 1830. Category A listed, it has been closed to vehicles since 2020 following an inspection and its future is uncertain. The Construction of the Union Bridge over the River Tweed by Alexander Nasmyth (1819) The restored bridge seen from the Scottish side