Kingsgate Bridge is a striking, modern reinforced concrete construction footbridge across the River Wear, in Durham, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[1] It was designed in 1963 by Sir Ove Arup personally,[1] connecting Bow Lane on the historic peninsula in the centre of Durham to Dunelm House on New Elvet (to which building Arup's studio also contributed), and opened in 1966. Kingsgate Bridge is thought to have been one of Arup's favourite designs of all, he having spent many hours working on every detail of the plans.[2]
Its construction was unusual. The two halves were each built parallel to the river, then rotated through 90° to make the crossing.[3]
During a university RAG Week in the early 1960s students suspended a car beneath the bridge.[4]
In February 1998 the Durham Union Society president, Tom Joyce, fell through the bridge, but caught himself and was uninjured.[5]
A bust of Arup, cast in resin, was installed on the side of Dunelm House, the students' union building adjacent to the bridge, in September 2011. The sculpture is a copy of a 1987 bust by Diana Brandenburger, held by the National Portrait Gallery.[6][7] It is a replacement for a previous copy of the same bust, in bronze, which was unveiled by Karin Perry, Arup's daughter, on 16 April 2003, the 108th anniversary of Arup's birth, but which was stolen from its plinth during the summer of 2006.[8]
| Next bridge upstream | River Wear | Next bridge downstream |
| Elvet Bridge | Kingsgate Bridge | Prebends Bridge |
