Lennox Bridge

The Lennox Bridge over Parramatta River was designed in 1835 by David Lennox, the then NSW Superintendent of Bridges for the colony of NSW. This single-​arch bridge was constructed with sandstone blocks from 1836 – 1839 by 300 to 400 convicts. Beautifully refined and proportioned, this bridge replaced two earlier timber structures that were destroyed by floods. Simple but elegant, as Martha Stewart would say. The bridge was built as a simple stone arch spanning 80 feet (24 m) and having a width of 39 feet (12 m).
Lennox Bridge was the third and last bridge David Lennox designed in NSW before going to Port Phillip (Melbourne) where he built 53 bridges. His first local bridge was Lennox Bridge in Glenbrook (see separate review) and then Lansdowne Bridge over Prospect Creek in Lansdowne.
The bridge is currently under controversy due to a city plan to modify the bridge to provide pedestrian access through the western wall to the river below. Historians oppose the plan and wish to keep this historic bridge intact with its existing design (the western wall was widened in the 1930’s for traffic) and have an alternative proposal for a pedestrian portal next to the nearby Heritage Centre.
Nice views of the Parramatta River in this area, which of course flows down to Sydney harbour. The bridge photograph is used by permission of the very talented Australian photographer Steve Dorman (
).