I came to Cambridge, England for many reasons but it wasn’t until I went punting on the River Cam (see previous blog) that I remembered the Mathematical Bridge was here. I had been reading about the bridge online for years. I have a love for historical bridges, especially covered bridges. I love the engineering that goes into a bridge. A lot of mathematical calculations are used in building a bridge to make sure it’s safe. The calculations provide a guarantee of correct heights, weights, and angles for a bridge. The funny thing about my interest in this subject is that I suck at Geometry but I’ve always found it interesting how bridges were built in the days where there was not the technology that we have today. I just like knowing how things are put together.
What was even more interesting was what I learned about the building on right of the bridge. It’s the Riverside Building built around 1460. That makes this building 563 years old. It’s the oldest building on the River Cam and the second oldest building among the Queen’s College buildings. The first president of Queen’s college lived there. I’m going to include some pictures of the building. It was raining so that’s the black you see a couple of photos.
So, let me tell you about The Mathematical Bridge. It was built to connect the two parts of Queens College that were on opposite sides of the river. The bridge was designed by William Etheridge in 1748. It was built by James Essex the Younger in 1749. It had to be repaired in 1866 and was rebuilt in 1905 using the exact same design as the original one. Despite its arched appearance, there is no curved wood on this bridge. This fact is what peak my interest in this bridge. Look close because you won’t find any curved wood. If wood is subjected to bending, it becomes a weak material. The sides of the bridge are not filled in because it reduces the impact of the wind against the bridge. I thought that was very smart. The bridge was built at the same time the brick walls were built along the river banks.
One big myth about this bridge is that it was called Newton’s Bridge but that is not so. Another myth is that Sir Isaac Newton designed this bridge and students took it apart and tried to put it back together and couldn’t. They’re just myths because Newton died in 1728. There are no records of Newton ever being involved in the designed of this bridge.
This bridge design was considered a minor triumph of engineering during the mid 18th century. There is so much that goes into building a bridge like this that I can’t even begin to share it with ya’ll here. All students can enter Queens College by walking across it. All visitors have to pay to enter Queens college. There was so much to see and document in Cambridge that I just didn’t have time to take any more pictures than these. Now that I know all that is in Cambridge, my next trip will be different. I hope ya’ll enjoy reading about the marvels of Cambridge and enjoy the pictures of both the bridge and the Riverside Build.
