List of lattice girder bridges in the United Kingdom

This list is intended to help identify a particular early form of lattice girder bridge which was popular with bridge engineers particularly in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century.

The term "lattice girder", is used in the UK and "lattice truss" is more widely used in the USA. A lattice girder or truss is often defined only in two dimensions, that is (in the case of a bridge) the structure as seen from the side. Such definitions sufficed for the early lattice girders such as the US Town truss which was designed for construction in timber. Early iron structures using a Town-type lattice replicated this appearance, leading to the instantly recognisable lattice-work shown in the bridges in Part A of this list. However, design considerations required that an iron (as opposed to a wooden) structure required many of the latticed bars to be stiffened in the third dimension. Thus, on closer examination, the delicate appearance of these early iron lattices is belied by this much more complex stiffening in the thickness or third dimension. This complex stiffening is itself also sometimes described as a ‘lattice girder’, being composed of (typically) two or four parallel flat or angled steel bars, closely spaced but linked by lattice work. Such a member is better described as a "laced strut", and such members frequently form a significant part of a lattice girder. The use of laced struts within a lattice girder can be seen in the two photographs of the c1860s lattice girder bridge at Llandeilo.

Part A of this list focuses on these early examples. (Note that some bridges, for example the New Clyde Viaduct (or Second Caledonian Bridge) in Glasgow appear to be of lattice construction whereas in fact the latticing is used solely for the protective parapet).

In later forms, various developments took place: for example, the lattice became less dense and each individual diagonal thus much more substantial; vertical members were introduced; and eventually both diagonal and vertical members achieved cross-sectional dimensions comparable to those of the main top and bottom components, thus forming what is more commonly known as a truss.

Part B of this list illustrates these later developments.

Part A

These bridges utilise dense latticing constructed from flat iron bars or angles

Name	Date of Construction	Key information	Image
Bennerley Viaduct	1877	One of only two iron trestle bridges still in situ in the UK.	Bennerley Viaduct photographed from Nottingham Canal Towpath in 2006
Kew Railway Bridge	1869		Kew Railway Bridge
Runcorn Railway Bridge	1868	Also known as Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge. Carries Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line over the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal	Runcorn Railway Bridge with Silver Jubilee Bridge behind
Marton Junction Bridge	1851
Darcy Lever Railway Bridge	1848	Rebuilt in 1883, but it is thought that the original girders were used	Darcy Lever Bridge
Cadishead Viaduct	1892		Cadishead Viaduct, bridging the Manchester Ship Canal west of Manchester
Fulham Railway Bridge	1889		Fulham Railway Bridge
Wandsworth Bridge	1873	Replaced by the current bridge in 1937	The first Wandsworth Bridge
Cornbrook Viaduct (Castlefield)	1877		Cornbrook Viaduct is the upper bridge, it lies just behind the lower bridge in the foreground
Great Northern Viaduct (Castlefield)	1894		The Viaduct and Potato Wharf
Llandeilo Railway Bridge	1852		Llandeilo bridge carries the Heart of Wales railway over the River Towy
Partick Railway Bridge	1900		Partick Bridge over the River Kelvin
Burntisland	1888		The easternmost spans of Burntisland Viaduct looking towards the harbour
Irlam Viaduct	1873		Irlam Viaduct over the Manchester Ship Canal
Monk Bridge			Bridge carrying Whitehall Road over the River Aire
Sheffield District Railway Bridge, Brightside	1900		Disused railway bridge over the River Don
Logierait Bridge	1865		Logierait Bridge over the River Tay
Warmsworth Viaduct	1910		Warmsworth Viaduct over the River Don
Pont Goed Bridge, Pentre Berw, Isle of Anglesey	1867
Halkirk Bridge	1874		Town lattice girder bridge on Far North Railway near Halkirk, Caithness
Kinbrace Railway Bridge	1874		Bridge over River Helmsdale, Kinbrace, Highland Region
Darwen Street Bridge, Blackburn	1847
Wishaw Railway Bridge	1849
Gallowgate Railway Bridge	1870
Oykel Viaduct, Invershin	1868
Sainsbury's Bridge, Bath	1870		The apparent 'roof' covers the modern footbridge adjacent to and immediately behind the railway bridge
Waterloo Railway Bridge	1864		Lattice girder bridge carrying railway tracks from Waterloo east towards Hungerford Bridge
Oxford Gasworks Bridge	1882		Old railway bridge, used as a footpath since the gasworks closed in 1960
Llangefni Railway Bridge	1866
Bowshank Railway Bridge	1849
Brixton Railway Bridge	1867
Rochester Railway Bridge	1891
Coatbridge Railway Bridge	1898
Montrose Viaduct	1880	The end span (see photo) is a conventional Town-type lattice. However, the bulk of this long viaduct consists of longer spans each of which has been strengthened by adding a small degree of upward curvature to the upper horizontals. This is effect makes this structure a unique example of a Town-type bowstring lattice
Loop Line Viaduct, Dublin	1891	[NB This structure is located in the Republic of Ireland, NOT the United Kingdom]
Bath Station Railway Bridge	1878
Dolemeads Bridge, Bath
Croxley Green Railway Bridge	1912
River Trent Bridge, Melbourne, Derbyshire	1868
Dutch River Bridge, Goole	1848
Fortyfoot Bridge, Lincolnshire	1882
Wick River Bridge, Sibster, Caithness	1874
Broadford Bridge, near Guildford, Surrey
Cragganmore Railway Bridge	1863
Crow Road Railway Bridge (1), Glasgow	1885	Estimated Date of Construction. Railways in this part of Glasgow were opened in the mid-1880s
Crow Road Railway Bridge (2), Glasgow	1885	Estimated Date of Construction. Railways in this part of Glasgow were opened in the mid-1880s
Burnham Road Railway Bridge, Scotstoun, Glasgow	1907

Part B

On these bridges the dense latticing is evolving into a much simpler utilisation of diagonal and vertical members

Name	Date of Construction	Key information	Image
Dowery Dell Viaduct	1883	A rare example of a lattice girder superstructure supported on trestles. Built by the Halesowen Joint Railway. Demolished 1964.	Dowery Dell Viaduct with steam train
Hungerford Bridge	1864		Hungerford Bridge - looking from the footbridge towards the rail bridge
Wicker Viaduct	1848		Viaduct over the River Don, Sheffield

See also

• List of railway bridges and viaducts in the United Kingdom