ABSTRACT
The story of the construction and collapse of John Smeaton's bridge in 1777–1782 is told with liberal reference to contemporary practice, his own previous experience, and other attempts to bridge the Tyne at Hexham. The collapse of Smeaton's bridge over the Tyne at Hexham in March 1782 was the only important failure in his career. The facts of the bridge's collapse on the morning of 11 March, 1782 were briefly told by Errington's agent John Donkin who watched it. The framing and setting which Smeaton mentioned here he never suggested again for a large bridge and he criticized the method at least once because decay of the timber made it impermanent. The piers were founded in 'broad cofferdams of earth ' kept dry by chain pumps. The piles were cut off just above the waling at about low-water level and the space within the casing filled up with rubble and sand, paved on top with large squared stones.
