Teignmouth Bridge, from the Quay, 1827 (hand coloured aquatint on paper)

Artist: Strutt `This Bridge was Designed by and Executed under the direction of Roger Hopkins, Civil Engineer, &c. &c. &c. Published by E. Croydon. June 5th. 1827, Public Library, Teignmouth; C. Rosenberg Sc.; Strutt Delt.’ Locally-published print of the first Shaldon Bridge, which crossed the estuary mouth of the River Teign at Teignmouth, Devon. The original bridge was owned by the Teignmouth and Shaldon Bridge Company and opened on 8 June 1827. It had 34 wooden arches and was 1,671 feet long, which made it the longest wooden bridge in England when built. It had abutment walls of a considerable length at either end, and a swing bridge at the Teignmouth end to allow sailing ships to pass up the estuary. It cost around £19,000 to build, but the overall expenditure was about £26,000 due to the costs of the necessary Act of Parliament and the purchase of the old ferry-rights. Toll houses were built at each end of the bridge, and the one on the Teignmouth side still survives.