Silver Street Bridge
A 1959 concrete river crossing designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, which replaced a cast-iron predecessor.
Silver Street Bridge carries the road of the same name over the middle stream of the River Cam, at the southern end of The Backs. It is officially called Small Bridge, a name few people use. It is counted as the sixth bridge across the Cam in Cambridge, and the second on the river's middle stream.
A Lutyens design
The present structure is a concrete bridge of 1959, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It replaced a cast-iron bridge dating from 1841 on the same spot. The modern crossing is Grade II listed, so a twentieth-century structure now carries the same protection as many of the older buildings around it.
Where it fits
Silver Street was once the river's commercial gateway: the Backs article records that the Cam served as a working thoroughfare for traffic bound for the mill here. The grounds of Darwin College lie just beyond Silver Street at the southern limit of the Backs, and walking north from the bridge takes you along the college gardens towards Queens' College and its Mathematical Bridge.
Practical notes
The bridge makes a convenient starting or finishing point for a walk along the river. Other crossings in the same stretch include Garret Hostel Bridge and Clare Bridge.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
