Humber Bridge gets stamp of approval from Royal Mail
THE Humber Bridge is making an appearnce on newly launched first class stamps from Royal Mail.
Royal Mail vans working locally in the Humber will also carry an image of the stamp.
The Bridges stamp issue is aimed at celebrating the leaps in engineering that have seen the UK’s bridges evolve from humble stone crossings to dramatic and symbolic landmarks.
More than a century after the notion of a bridge or tunnel crossing the Humber estuary had first been debated, the eventual completion of the Humber Bridge in 1981 redefined the boundaries for suspension-bridge technology.
Its complex construction, by consulting engineers Freeman Fox & Partners, took nine years.
With a total length of 2,220 metres and a central span of 1,410 metres between two towers of reinforced concrete, for 16 years the Humber Bridge was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world.
Its mighty scale, elegant minimal form and the fact that it leaps across one of England’s great natural boundaries has captured the imagination.
The poet Philip Larkin, who lived in Kingston-upon-Hull, wrote ‘Bridge for the Living’, a poem that was set to music to celebrate the opening of the Humber Bridge.
Andrew Hammond, head of stamps and collectibles at Royal Mail, said: “The story of Britain’s engineering genius can be found in its bridges. These new stamps celebrate ten beautiful and ground-breaking landmarks that span centuries of our history.”
Other bridges featured on the stamps are Tarr Steps; Row Bridge; Pulteney Bridge; Craigellachie Bridge; Pont Grog y Borth (Menai Suspension Bridge); High Level Bridge; Royal Border, Peace Bridge; and Tees Transporter Bridge
