Jarrold Bridge

August 12, 2023

My River Wensum series starts with a photo tour of the bridges. I began with Carrow Bridge as it is the nearest to my apartment. Traveling along the Wensum up towards the city, the next bridge featured in this series is the Novi Sad Friendship Bridge, followed by the Lady Julian Bridge and from there we arrived next at Foundry Bridge . After Foundry bridge, if you were traveling towards the city by boat, to your left you would see Pull’s Ferry and Norwich Cathedral as you headed towards Bishop Bridge. Curve around the bend next to Cow Tower, with the Cathedral to the left, and apartments and offices to the right, and the next bridge is the Jarrold Bridge.

Back from ancient to modern again. Let no one say the Wensum doesn’t provide variety!

The Jarrold bridge was designed by Stephen James of Ramboll (a company with 50 years of experience in bridge building) and built by local company R G Carter. Visit the Jarrold site to see all the awards this bridge has won and been short-listed for. Truly impressive! You will also see other interesting facts there, such as the fact that the bridge slope is less than 1 in 20 for ease of use. The bridge is a double cantilever design. Ideal for walkers and cyclists alike.

The river is even better by canoe… even on a grey day Thorpe Island Canoes

The Jarrold Bridge curves across the Wensum

From the top of the bridge you can enjoy the very natural view up towards Cow Tower and Mousehold Heath, lushly green with willows grazing the water. The bridge is just next to a car park, on the other side of which is the Adam & Eve pub, the oldest watering hole in Norwich.

The city view gives you the rear side of St James Mill, where Jarrold & Sons Ltd have their offices. Next door to St James Mill, new apartments are being built, so it is currently a construction site with a huge crane. I will return to St James Mill and the building along the Wensum in future posts.

Jarrold Bridge by the willows at sunset.

From modern back to ancient, Whitefriar’s Bridge is the next bridge in this River Wensum series which will feature not only bridges but go on to study the architecture, wildlife and the current human life along the river. While the Wensum has a great history, life along the river continues to evolve and change and I will be documenting that as the series continues.