The Mathematical Bridge is the popular but spurious name of a wooden bridge across the River Cam, and part of Queens' College, Cambridge.

The bridge was designed by William Etheridge , and built by James Essex in 1749. It has been rebuilt on two occasions — 1867 and 1902 — but has kept the same overall design.

It is a commonly repeated myth in Cambridge that not only was the bridge designed by Isaac Newton, but that he did so without the need for nuts to hold the wood together, and that the bridge only received nuts and bolts when college members dismantled the bridge and were unable to reassemble it. This is of course patent nonsense, as Newton died in 1727. Other myths regarding the bridge are that it is of Chinese origin and that its design incorporates some form of mathematical technique; the teller of the myth rarely elaborates on what technique this might have been.

The title of 'Mathematical Bridge' was also given to one of the former bridges of the Cam between Trinity and Trinity Hall, also designed by James Essex , where Garret Hostel Bridge now stands.

External Link

• Queens' history of the bridge