[3][4] In 1629 an agreement was made by the justices in the North Riding to replace a wooden bridge with one which included moving parts.

As work progressed on the west side of the river bank to set a pivot for the bridge to swing, a seam of coal 10 inches (250 mm) thick was struck at 26 feet (7.9 m) below the water level.

[8] It was opened in July 1909 by Mabel Theresa Duncombe, the daughter of the Viscount of Helmsley and the wife of local MP, Sir Gervase Beckett.

To avoid congestion in the town centre, the road was diverted to a high level bridge over the Esk Valley built in 1980.

[1] In 2023 it was announced that the local council would be closing the bridge to traffic, with the exception of buses, during peak times in spring and summer.