Notes:

• Often claimed to be the first use of metal in a suspension structure in the Western world.
• Location always cited as "across the Oder near Glorywitz, Prussia" however the name "Glorywitz" only ever appears in citations of this bridge. Likely it was near the modern city of Gliwice in Poland, also known as Gleiwitz (German) and Glywicy (Silesian)

Notes:

• Varying histories of this catwalk-style bridge exist. Some claim it was built 1704, a cable snapped in 1802 killing three people, and it was then rebuilt in 1830 (the present bridge). Others attribute the bridge to 1741 and have the 1802 incident killing "one or two people".
• Replaced by 1830 Wynch (Winch) - Middleton-in-Teesdale, England, United Kingdom.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008266

Notes:

• Carried a water pipeline with eight iron chains.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20017520

Notes:

• In an email dated January 16, 2000, Don Sayenga provided information about the location of this bridge. Generally attributed to Uniontown (the seat of Fayette County, PA), Mr. Sayenga offers some clues about the bridge's true location. "[James Finley] stated that he built it near the home of his friend Meason which implies a connection for the iron as Meason was making iron. Meason's home has survived by the way, a beautiful place. Finley stated it was a combination contract with the cost split between two counties, and he stated it was built over Jacob's Creek which is the county boundary. He also makes it clear it was on the road to Greensburg. The only place the old road crossed Jacob's Creek is just south of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. On the geodetic survey maps this spot is marked "Iron Bridge" but there is no town there. The last time I was there I saw a sign that said 'Iron Bridge' on an automobile scrap yard. I found absolutely no trace of the bridge, but it was not very big, so there was no need for a huge abutment."
• First suspension bridge with a rigid level deck, often considered the world's first modern suspension bridge.
• Coordinates are for the likely location of the bridge, where present-day (2020) Pennsylvania route 3105 crosses Jacob's Creek.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000873

Notes:

• BCW gives completion date of 1810 and says bridge was destroyed by flood two years later.
• Coordinates given are for the current crossing (VA SR123, still known locally as "Chain Bridge Road") which is on (or very close) to the alignment of Chain Bridge. Chain Bridge was the third bridge at this site. The current structure is the eighth and was completed in 1940.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008052

Notes:

• Destroyed by flood, 1810.
• Later at same location 1820 Wills Creek - Cumberland, Maryland, USA.

External Links:

• Dunlap's Creek Bridge (link reported not working). "The first recorded bridge across Dunlap's Creek was a wooden structure constructed prior to 1774. It was repaired in 1801, but was destroyed during a spring storm in 1808. A chain-link suspension bridge was built on the site in 1809; it collapsed under the weight of snow and a heavily laden wagon in 1820. A third bridge, another wooden structure, built in 1821 also failed. The present bridge is thus the fourth bridge at the site."
• Structurae - Structure ID 20008055

Notes:

• Failed 1811, 1816. HBE notes the 1811 was due to weight of cattle. The 1816 failure was due to weight of ice and snow.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008053

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008057

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008060

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008059

Notes:

• Destroyed by flood, 1822.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008054

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008058

Notes:

• John Templeman built several bridges (like this one) using James Finley's design.
• Repaired in 1827 after 5 of 10 chains snapped under weight of a team of oxen.
• The complete description from Thomas Pope's 1811 Treatise (POPE):

  "The chain Bridge lately thrown over the Merrimack, three miles above Newburyport, in the state of Massachusetts, is now in constant use. This Bridge consists of a single arc, two hundred and forty-four feet span. The abutments are of stone, forty-seven feet long, and thirty-seven high; the uprights, or framed work, which stand on the abutments, are thirty-five feet high, over which are suspended ten distinct chains, the ends of which on both sides of the river are buried deep in pits and secured by large stones: each chain is five hundred and sixteen feet long; and, where they pass over the uprights, they are treble, and made in short links, which is said to be more secure than saddles made of plates of iron. The four middle joists rest on the chains; all the rest are suspended to the main chains to equalize the floor. This Bridge has two passage-ways of fifteen feet in width each, and the floor is so solid as to admit of horses, carriages, etc. to travel at any speed, with very little perceptible motion of the floors. The railing is stout and strong, which adds much firmness to the floor. There are three chains in each range on each side, and four in the middle range: they are calculated to support nearly five hundred tons. From the surface of the water to the middle of the floor is forty feet; and from the top of the abutments to the top of the uprights is thirty-five feet high, making seventy-two feet. The magnitude and power of the abutments, the width and length of the floors, the elevation of the work, the evident powers of the chains, etc. all conspire to make it a wonderful work. Every expense attending it did not amount to twenty-five thousand dollars. The abutment being of stone, the uprights covered, and the chains painted to prevent rust, leaves nothing but the flooring to decay. This Bridge was constructed by John Templeman, Esq. of the district of Columbia, whose talents for the productions of such work, and the various improvements suggested and used by him, have been highly beneficial, and do him great credit."

• Gregory W. Buff sent a transcription of an article describing the 1827 failure. The article was in the Saturday, February 24, 1827 issue (Volume IV, Number 31) of the Canadian Spectator (Montreal, Quebec) newspaper:

  "Newburyport, Feb 9. Disastrious [sic] Accident. - On Tuesday morning last, the Essex Merrimack Bridge gave way in the centre, from the parting of the chains that support it. On the Bridge, at the moment, was a loaded team, drawn by six oxen and two horses, driven by two men, Messrs. Garlton [sic] and Jackman, all of whom were precipitated, forty feet, into the river beneath. The teamsters preserved themselves by means of swimming, and the support of fragments of the bridge; the team were all of them except one of the horses, swept beneath the ice a few rods below, and drowned. Five of the ten chains which supported the Bridge, were snapped in different places, and now remain upholding the broken and shattered timber altogether as sad a wreck as we ever witnessed. At the moment of the crash, the light evolved from the friction of the chains resembled the the vivid streaming of a meteor. Various excuses are assigned for the accident, and none, with more probability, than the united effect of the incumbent pressure of the immense body of snow lying upon the bridge, and the frost which had contracted the particles of iron. These produced a tenseness in the chains, which was incapable of resisting the additional pressure of the loaded team, and the whole gave way. The estimated expense of repairing the breach is about 4000 dollars; and the Directors, as we understand, plan to set about it immediately. It will be built up as before. To those who have been losers by this accident the corporation intend to make generous inumeration. The traveling will be uninterrupted, as the solidity of the ice above the bridge forms a safe passage way - and for the conveyance of carriages and heavy baggage the proprietors have promptly provided suitable boats. If any aversion to chain bridges has been produced by this accident, we should be sorry, for ourselves we feel yet unshaken faith in their superior security. The misfortune in this case was no doubt owing to the causes above stated, and not to any defect in the construction of the bridge. Probably hundreds of individuals, including each sex and all ages, have visited the ruins of the bridge. They present a sad and melancholy appearance - crushed and broken timbers suspended by the massy chains, which hang lazily from the pyramidical abutments, while the beholder instinctly shrinks back in terror at the reflection of the situation of the two human beings who were precipitated into the abyss beneath. The preservation of these two men is almost miraculous. Although hurled down 40 feet amid crashing and falling timber, entangled with their cattle, they fell without receiving the least injury, and attained the shore, after being for nearly half an hour, immerse in water chilled to the freezing point. Mr. Jackman is far advanced in years - and suffered somewhat from the exposure to the cold. Mr. Carlton [sic], escaped unhurt. The Chain Bridge has been built for about fifteen years, the span is 220 feet. We believe this was the second or third Chain Bridge built in the United States; and this is probably the first that has met with a similar accident. We understand the proprieters of the Rooks Bridge intend to rebuild theirs as a Chain Bridge."

• Replaced by 1909 Chain - Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA. The 1909 structure was almost entirely new (except for portions of the piers and abutments).

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20001418

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008062

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008063

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008064

Notes:

• BSI: Originally erected in the form of a traditional suspension bridge, but soon reinforced with wire stays from much larger towers to reduce unwanted motion. Destroyed by flood, 1839.

Notes:

• Narrow footbridge. First wire bridge in North America. HBE notes "first wire suspension bridge in any country."
• Often described as having collapsed under the weight of ice and snow, Don Sayenga notes that no contemporary sources confirm this demise. Since the nearby chain bridge did fail under weight of ice and snow, he believes this fate has been misattributed to the White and Hazard footbridge. Don believes the bridge was just dismantled at some point after June, 1816.
• Al Zagofsky also wrote to explain there was no evidence of this bridge collapsing under weight of ice and snow. Al writes: "According to an original source Captain Joshua Rowley Watson, who inspected the bridge on June 15, 1816: '...There was a bridge, but which by the weight of ice and snow, has been carried away.' This refers to the previous bridge that the cable bridge was temporarily replacing. I did not see any cause for failure of the wire rope bridge. My guess is that it was removed when the regular bridge was repaired. The same article shows a sketch that he made, showing the main span to be 407 feet. I am looking at the Canal History and Technology Proceedings Vol 5, March 22, 1986."

Notes:

• May have been rebuilt around 1850. History of the bridge is unclear between the 1838 collapse and replacement in 1872.
• This 1818 bridge was a replacement for the 1817 Dryburgh Abbey suspension bridge which appears to have been primarily a cable-stayed structure and is not included in the inventory. The 1817 bridge failed due to wind in early 1818.
• Later at same location 1872 Dryburgh Abbey - Dryburgh and St. Boswells, Scotland, United Kingdom.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008269

Notes:

• 2007, March: Closed after a hanger snapped in high winds. Repaired and reopened August, 2007.
• 2020, October: Closed for major renovation and conservation project.
• 2023, April: The bridge is reopened.
• Eclipsed by new longest suspension bridge 1826 Menai Strait - Menai Bridge and Bangor vicinity, Wales, United Kingdom.

External Links:

• Conservation - Union Chain Bridge - unionchainbridge.org. Site devoted to the 2020-2023 renovation project. This page lists the highlights of the project.
• Structurae - Structure ID 20000162

Notes:

• Destroyed 1838 when one abutment collapsed.
• At former location of 1807 Wills Creek - Cumberland, Maryland, USA.

Notes:

• SBR: Chain pier extending into 700 feet into the Forth, with three main spans each of 209 feet. Wrecked by storm, 1898.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008327

Notes:

• Test structure, but recognized as first wire bridge in France.
• See 1865 Moulin - Vernosc-lès-Annonay, Ardèche, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20002008

Notes:

• Sometimes cited as completed in 1823.

Notes:

• Réunion was known as "Isle of Bourbon" at this time.
• Built as part of same project as 1823 (suspension bridge) - Réunion, France.

Notes:

• Réunion was known as "Isle of Bourbon" at this time.
• MOS: "These bridges were designed by Mr. Brunel, and executed in England, near Sheffield, where they were put together in January, 1823, before being sent out to the Isle de Bourbon."
• Built as part of same project as 1823 (suspension bridge) - Réunion, France.

Notes:

• SBR: Severely damaged 1833, 1836. Destroyed by storm 1896.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008326

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000895

Notes:

• GHD describes the interesting hybrid chain and cable suspension system of this bridge. GHD also notes the commonly available lithograph image of the Delessert bridge is factually inaccurate showing a cable system similar to the 1823 Saint Antoine bridge, not resembing the actual cable system of the Delessert bridge.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000894

Notes:

• GHD: Built as an experimental bridge in preparation for the Tain-Tournon Bridge. Collapsed 1844.
• Sometimes "Galore".
• See 1825 Tain-Tournon - Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche and Tain, Drôme, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20006498

Notes:

• Often claimed to be the oldest surviving suspension bridge in continental Europe.
• 1909: Wooden towers are damaged by flood and eventually replaced with steel towers.
• 1930: Bridge deck is stiffened and several intermediate piers are added to support the bridge.
• 2010: Bridge is reconstructed retaining some original components and eliminating the need for the intermediate piers. The bridge is again functioning as a suspension bridge.

External Links:

• Chain Bridge (Nuremberg) - Wikipedia
• Structurae - Structure ID 20000255

Notes:

• Finley patent bridge.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008066

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20005713

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20005715

Notes:

• Remains of this very early suspension bridge are supposedly kept on the grounds of Chateau Strážnice

External Links:

• About a suspended roof built in 1826 - Pavel Ferjencik (1975)
• Kettenbrücke | Ponton's Brücken

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20020524

Notes:

• May have been completed earlier, in 1824.
• 1835: Damaged during First Carlist War. Later rebuilt.
• c. 1870: Bridge collapses due to fire damage.

External Links:

• Puente colgante de Burceña

Notes:

• The earliest of several chain suspension bridges built in Vienna in the 1820s and 1830s.

External Links:

• Rotundenbrücke – Wien Geschichte Wiki
• Rotundenbrücke – Wikipedia
• Sophienbrücke Vídeň

Notes:

• Often credited as being the first large wire suspension bridge in France (and elsewhere). Rebuilt 1847 as a footbridge. Removed 1965.
• Near 1849 Marc Seguin - Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche and Tain-L'Hermitage, Drôme, France.
• Near 1958 Gustave Toursier - Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche and Tain-L'Hermitage, Drôme, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000156

Notes:

• Cable ends"swallowed" by four cast-iron decorative griffins.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20005727

Notes:

• Famously collapsed under weight of marching troops April 12, 1831. Was rebuilt and strengthened and eventually replaced in 1914.

Notes:

• 1904: Major reinforcement and strengthening project.
• 2008, February: Major refurbishment project completed.
• Next to 1904 (footbridge) - Conwy, Wales, United Kingdom.

Annotated Citations:

• "Conway Suspension Bridge." The Engineer, 20 May 1904.
  

  Details regarding the 1904 reinforcement project: "...It was therefore decided to renew all the suspension rods, and pins, and to fix steel cables above the suspension links, to supplement them so that the maximum stress in the links due to any possible travelling load should not exceed 5 tons per square inch. It was also decided to build a stiffening girder coupled to the suspension rod on each side of the bridge, and at the same time to widen the bridge by building a footway 6ft. wide outside the suspenders on the north side of the bridge."

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000447

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20005717

Notes:

• Steel cables added, 1992.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20010131

Notes:

• Failed when almost complete in 1826. MOS: "On the 6th of September, a water-pipe, which was laid in the ground on the side of the Champs Elysées, and came near the abutments on that side of the river, burst, and, softening the ground about the abutment, it gave way under the strain produced by the weight of the bridge."
• Replaced by 1829 Invalides (l'Allee-d'Antin) - Paris, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000226

Notes:

• Cable ends "swallowed" by four cast-iron decorative lions at each end.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20005716

Notes:

• 1839 (or 1840): Restored. Deck strengthened.
• 1893: Original wood deck replaced with a steel deck.
• 1938-1940: Original wrought-iron chains replaced with steel eyebars, deck strengthened.
• 1999: Deck resurfaced and other improvements to strengthen bridge.
• 2020: Major maintenance project planned to start January, 2021.
• 2022, October: Closed due to serious structural concerns. Expected to reopen January 2023 with a weight restriction.
• Became longest suspension bridge by eclipsing 1820 Union - Horncliffe, Berwick-upon-Tweed vicinity, England and Fishwick, Scotland, United Kingdom.
• Eclipsed by new longest suspension bridge 1834 Zaehringen (Grand Pont Suspendu) - Fribourg, Switzerland.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000091

Notes:

• IBB: Replaced in 1866. Multiple figures exist for main span length: 36.4, 36.7, and 40 meters.

Notes:

• SBR: Replaced, 1903.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20076932

Notes:

• Likely replaced 1926. SBR: Replaced "1926 or 1927". Design by Brown.

Notes:

• Multi-span structure distinct from Templeman's 1810 Chain Bridge. Sometimes misidentified as an 1827 replacement to the 1810 Templeman Chain Bridge because of the significant damage to the Templeman bridge in 1827.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008067

Notes:

• Destroyed August 30, 1944. Rebuilt 1946.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008624

Notes:

• Replaced by 1887 Hammersmith - London, England, United Kingdom.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008011

Notes:

• Originally built with iron chains. Later replaced with iron wire.
• Near 1831 Masaryk (Masarik, Mazarik, de la Gare) - Lyon vicinity, Métropole de Lyon, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20008335

Notes:

• The country of this bridge's location has changed several times. It is currently located in Poland where the river is known as "Mala Panew". AAJ records this bridge as serving the "Malapana mill" across the "Malapane River". "Malapane" is the German name for the Mała Panew river.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20071825

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000214

Notes:

• Destroyed 1870. Rebuilt 1873.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20017738

Notes:

• Replaced by 1859 Doux - St Jean de Muzols and Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20017173

External Links:

• Karlskettensteg – Wien Geschichte Wiki
• Structurae - Structure ID 20019496

Notes:

• Replaced by 1933 Sablons - Sablons, Isère and Serrières, Ardèche, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20001506

Notes:

• Strong resemblance to what Ted Ruddock has referred to as "blacksmith suspension bridges" of the early 19th century.

Notes:

• Provided access to the lighthouse at South Stack. Iron chain suspension system replaced in 1964, surviving until until 1983, but unclear if it was still functioning as a suspension bridge. Towers are now used as abutments for a pedestrian truss bridge.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20012176

Notes:

• 1887: Flooring failed.
• 1944: Bombed by Allied Forces, August 6.

External Links:

• Musée de la résistance en ligne
• Structurae - Structure ID 20012664

Notes:

• 1906: Replaced by a non-suspension bridge still referred to as "Chainbridge".

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20016373

Notes:

• Replaced 1826 Invalides - Paris, France.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20000897

Notes:

• 1830: Said to have collapsed under weight of cattle in 1830. At some point it was rebuilt as a non-suspension bridge with the original suspension bridge towers intact. The current (in the 2020s and for many years before) main span is steel plate girder.

Notes:

• SBR: March 19, 1830, with a "crowd of people, estimated at 700, ... watching a boat race," a chain broke "plunging most of the people into the river." Repaired.
• 1838: Wrecked by storm. Repaired.

Notes:

• Damaged by flood, 1840. Rebuilt. Bombed, 1944. Repaired, 1945. Location now occupied by a cable-stayed footbridge, completed 1986.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20017171

Notes:

• Replaced by 1897 Port-Sainte-Foy - Port-Sainte-Foy-et-Ponchapt, Dordogne and Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde, France.

External Links:

• Le pont suspendu - Le pays foyen

Notes:

• Replaced by 1858 Thoirette - Thoirette, Jura and Ain, France.

External Links:

• Art-et-Histoire - Premier pont suspendu de Thoirette - 1830

Notes:

• Damaged by flood in 1840. Rebuilt.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20005249

Notes:

• Replaced by 1926 Nassau - Nassau, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20025228

Notes:

• ISB describes its location: "...is situated half a mile from the mouth of the Circular Canal on the great road to Barrackpoor."

Notes:

• Described as crossing the "Beose River" but the only references to a river by that name come from contemporary descriptions of this bridge.

Notes:

• Completed 1830 or 1832.

Notes:

• ISB describes its location: "is the last or most southerly [of the chain suspension bridges] on the Circular Canal, being distant 3-1/2 miles from its mouth and a quarter of a mile from its junction with the Baliaghata and Circular Canals. It forms the principal line of communication between Calcutta (by the Lall-Bazar, Bow-Bazar and Boitakhana Streets,) Sealda, Soora and Baliaghata."

Notes:

• 1944: Heavily damaged.
• 1945: Repaired and reopened.
• Similar to Saint-Vallier - Saint-Vallier, Drôme, France.

External Links:

• Art-et-Histoire - Pont de Bourg St-Andéol - 1830
• Structurae - Structure ID 20015893

External Links:

• Structurae - Structure ID 20002998

Notes:

• Suspension bridge abutments retained for 1929 non-suspension bridge replacement.

External Links:

• Art-et-Histoire - Pont de Guitres - 1830

External Links:

• Art-et-Histoire - Pont de La Madeleine sur le Lot - 1830

Notes:

• ISB describes its location: "is situated 2-1/4 miles from the mouth of the Circular Canal, and is three quarters of a mile due east of the new Church in Cornwallis Square."