Free learning resources from arts, cultural and heritage organisations.

Archive Film of Humber Bridge

This film was taken by Humberside Police just after the Bridge was built, and it is now in the collection of the Yorkshire Film Archive. It was not made by a professional filmmaker and it’s a silent film - we have added this commentary to help My Learning users understand what's happening.

The cameraman is scanning up one of the concrete towers and showing us the top where all the cables are attached.

Now we’re looking down from the tower along the suspension cables. Here the man shuffling along the bridge bar is tightening the bolts. Like many other bridges, the Humber Bridge is checked frequently and repainted. Almost every day in good weather men can be seen working on the bridge.

Here the map shows where the bridge is in the country. The hook to the right on the coast is Spurn P)oint. Follow the river inwards from there to Hull.

The White Rose of Yorkshire and the Lincoln Imp represent the two areas of the country brought together by the Humber Bridge.

This is a police helicopter view of the bridge across the Humber.

Here we are shown how the bridge links to the rest of Yorkshire via the M62 motorway.

We can now see a lorry travelling from the south bank across the bridge. The south bank is recognisable by the long approach road. This is partly because the land is lower down on the south side and also because shifting sandbanks on that side meant it needed to be a more stabilised structure.