Yarmouth Bridge
Yarmouth road swing-bridge over the western River Yar connects Yarmouth with the parish of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight.
'Brettell's Handbook to the Isle of Wight' (1840's) refers to 'a ferry between Yarmouth and the hamlet of Norton to facilitate communications'. In the 1850's a causeway was built across the estuary and a draw bridge was put in place to complete the link to Norton in Freshwater Parish in 1863. The bridge structure has been replaced a couple of times since.
At one time a toll was charged to use the bridge, and at another time there was only a single width roadway on the bridge and traffic was controlled by traffic lights on each side.
The Isle of Wight County Council purchased the bridge from the Yarmouth Town Trust in 1933[1] and the toll was lifted the following year[2].
The current bridge is designed to pivot about its middle to allow boats to pass through.
