Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Bascule bridges in Hull

The river Hull has a number of bridges, most of which (in it’s lower reaches) need to accommodate the passing of marine traffic. As a result there are bridges of various designs in place, including swing bridges and also, as pictured below, bascule bridges. There are other bascule bridges along the River Hull, and I may try and seek them out at some point – they’re impressive to behold.

The first two pictures show Drypool Bridge, built in 1961 to replace an earlier swing bridge constructed in 1889. The bridge is decorated to commemorate John Venn, the English mathematician after whom the famous diagrams are named, who was born in Hull in 1834.

The final picture is of North Bridge (or New North Bridge), built in 1931.

While looking up the dates the bridges were opened, I found the website Open Bridges, which is jam packed with interesting and detailed information on Hull’s bridges, along with wonderful photographs, drawings, and blueprints.

Drypool Bridge
Drypool Bridge-2
North Bridge

Nikon F80 & Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD on Kodak Tri-X. Ilfotec DD-X 1+4 @ 20° 9mins.

Taken on 9 August 2025

2 thoughts on “Bascule bridges in Hull

Leave a comment