Ha'penny Bridge

The Ha'penny Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Leathphingine, or Droichead na Life), known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England.

Name

Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge. The Liffey Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Life) remains the bridge's official name to this day, although it is most commonly referred to as the Ha'penny Bridge.

History

Before the Ha'penny Bridge was built there were seven ferries, operated by a William Walsh, across the Liffey. The ferries were in a bad condition and Walsh was informed that he had to either fix them or build a bridge. Walsh chose the latter option and was granted the right to extract a ha'penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years. Initially the toll charge was based not on the cost of construction, but to match the charges levied by the ferries it replaced. A further condition of construction was that, if the citizens of Dublin found the bridge and toll to be "objectionable" within its first year of operation, it was to be removed at no cost to the city.

Penny Bridge

Penny Bridge may refer to:

Penny Bridge (LIRR station)

Penny Bridge was a station stop along the Lower Montauk Branch that runs from Long Island City, Queens to Jamaica, Queens, in the state of New York. This station first opened on June 26, 1854 by the New York and Flushing Railroad. It was later acquired by the South Side Railroad of Long Island in 1869, and then the Long Island Railroad in 1878. During its existence, the station served local industry as well as the Calvary Cemetery. Before the Kosciuszko Bridge was built, it also served businesses on the Brooklyn side of Newtown Creek (the name referring to the Penny Bridge that formerly connected Laurel Hill Boulevard to Meeker Avenue before it was closed in 1939) prior to the closure and removal of the bridge. The station was closed on March 16, 1998 along with Haberman, Glendale, Fresh Pond and Richmond Hill stations due to extreme low usage; at the time of closure, the station served an average of one person per day.

References

External links