Item 83 - Postcard of 'The Union Bridge near Berwick on Tweed' by Alexander Nasmyth c. 1819

This painting was bequeathed to the Society in 1861 by Lady Brown, widow of Captain Sir Samuel Brown, RN (1776-1852), the engineer of the bridge and for many years a member of the Society. Brown invented an improved method of manufacturing links for chain cables which greatly extended their use in the construction of suspension bridges and landing piers. Brown's bar link was first employed in the Union Bridge, completed in July 1820 and subsequently in the Chain Pier at Brighton. The bridge is 18ft wide, 368ft long and the distance between the points of suspension is 432ft. It was the earliest suspension bridge erected in Great Britain calculated for the passage of loaded carriages. The painting itself was executed before the bridge was built to show the effect it would have on the landscape. The large building discernible on the skyline in the centre of the picture, standing high on the northern bank of the Tweed is Paxton House, built to the designs of James and John Adam in the 1750's, with later additions by Robert Reid. Like the bridge, it still stands in fine condition.

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C/28/4

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Creator KillickV 10/05/2000