Until the bridge was built and opened in 1832, the crossing of the river was by Dunham Ferry. This was an important crossing of the Trent. It was used by King William III in 1695 when he was met at Dunham by the Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne.[2]
The bridge was established in the 1830s, under the powers of the Dunham Bridge Act 1830,[4] when a group of local businessmen organised the original four-span, cast-iron construction[5][6] by the civil engineer, George Leather (1786–1870).[7]
The first person to cross the bridge was Eliza Woolas of Laneham, who used a sixteen-inch batten to span the remaining gap on a Sunday – presumably when no workmen were present.[8]
River Trent flooded (from Dunham Bridge) 1977
The superstructure was rebuilt on its original piers in 1977–79 to trunk road standards.[5][6] A new toll plaza was opened in 1994 by the Right Honourable Mr. Michael Dennis, doubling the number of lanes through the booths from two to four.[5]
During the rebuilding, a temporary bridge was built with single lane usage, controlled with temporary traffic signals.
In June 2023, it was confirmed that tolls would be increasing for the first time since 2013.[9] Tariffs are regulated by the Department for Transport.[10] Passage is free at all times for pedestrians, cyclists, motor-cyclists and three-wheeled invalid carriages. On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, passage is free for all traffic.[5]
Dunham Bridge has been closed several times due to flooding, mainly on the Lincolnshire side: in 1897, 1977, 2001, 2012, and in January 2024. It was also closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
