Early history

A plaque on the bridge indicates there has been a tolled crossing, originally a ferry, in this rough location since 1127.^[1] The crossing forms part of a former turnpike road from Sandwich to the Isle of Thanet that has existed since the late 14th century.^[2] A customs house was built at the southern edge of the crossing during Edward IV's reign.^[3] The ferry route was frequently dangerous and difficult, and the Mayor of Sandwich petitioned Parliament to have a permanent bridge installed.^[4]

The original bridge was authorised by the Sandwich Bridge Act 1755 and opened that year.^[3] The total cost was £1,000, of which £600 was publicly funded with the remainder coming from the Corporation of Sandwich.^[4] It was rebuilt in 1773 from Portland Stone with a timber raised platform.^[5][6] A table of tolls is displayed on the side of the adjacent Barbican Gate to the south.^[2] A new wooden bridge was constructed in 1856, followed by a three-arch iron swing bridge in 1892, to allow river traffic to pass through.^[4][5][7] The reconstruction supported stone arches at the north and south ends.^[5] The bridge supports the town's coat of arms on its side.^[8]

Modern history

The bridge formed part of the original route of the A256, a major road along the East Kent coast from Dover to Thanet. In 1962, the toll was 1 shilling (5p) for cars and 1/3 (6¼p) - 1/6 (7½p) for goods vehicles.^[9] By 1965, it had become a significant bottleneck on the A256 as it could only carry a single lane of motor traffic and was the only crossing of the Stour in the local area.^[10] A petition for a bypass was signed by 3,000 residents.^[11] In 1973, a fund was set up to use excess monies from tolls to pay for local infrastructure.^[12]

The bridge was Grade II listed in 1976.^[5] Tolls were abolished the following year, with the final one being collected by the Mayor Councillor on 30 September.^[2][1] A bypass of Sandwich opened in 1981, taking traffic away from the bridge, yet it continued to attract congestion as it was used as a rat run.^[13]

In 2018, the bridge began to suffer reliability problems.^[14] While Kent County Council were investigating repairs, on 9 June 2019, the bridge was stuck open after shipping vessel passed through. Following emergency work, it reopened on 24 June.^[15] The bridge was expected to close again in February 2020 to all traffic, including pedestrians, but this was postponed.^[16][17] The repairs eventually began in September 2020, closing the bridge for 11 weeks, costing the council half a million pounds. Further maintenance, installing a bespoke gearbox on the bridge, continued the following year.^[18]