By Press Release
A three Yar Bridges photograph display is on show in Avenue Road, Freshwater.
Before a bridge was built, the only means of crossing the mouth of the River Yar was by ferry boat.
In 1857 the Yar Bridge Company was formed, with the aim of building a toll bridge and approach roads between Norton in the west and Yarmouth in the east.
This drawbridge was officially opened in April 1860. It greatly eased the journey between the two parishes and much development occurred in the area as a result.
In 1926, a swing bridge was built, replacing the drawbridge. The Isle of Wight County Council purchased the bridge from the Yar Bridge Company in 1933 and it was freed of tolls the following year.
The bridge was wide enough for traffic in one direction only, which was controlled by the Isle of Wight’s first set of permanent traffic lights, installed in 1935. The increase in traffic, and weight of vehicles, meant that a new swing bridge had to be built in 1987 and this is the bridge in use today.
The display shows drawings and engravings of people crossing the river in small boats in the early nineteenth century, and photographs and information on the three bridges, built in 1860, 1926 and 1987.
