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Saltburn's Valley Gardens Bridge is demolished

Then in 1974 - Crowds gathered on Saltburn's promenade to witness the end of one of the town’s best known landmarks.
  
At exactly 9.30am (17th December) explosive charges were placed at the base of the 120ft-high Halfpenny Bridge. Minutes later the structure which had spanned the Valley Gardens since 1869, was reduced to a tangled heap of twisted metal and the vista through the valley towards Saltburn woods, would never be the same again.

The Bridge cost £7,000 to build and three workmen were killed during its construction Originally, pedestrians were charged a halfpenny to cross the 650ft long span and sixpence for carriages drawn by four horses. During its 105 year history a number of people committed suicide by throwing themselves off the bridge. In recent times the bridge had become too costly to maintain.

This article originally appeared in the May 1998 issue of Now & Then Magazine