Old Sunderland  on the South side of the river needed to connected by road to Monkwearmouth  on the North side at a point closer to the town. Rowland Burdon, MP for Durham obtained the act of Parliament required in 1792 but the stone bridge design that was proposed was abandoned . This was due to the high build costs relating  to the poor ground conditions and the amount of river traffic that had to be catered for whilst the bridge was under construction.


At this time cast iron technology was available and a design that could use stone and cast iron which would be stronger and lighter was produced. No doubt , the fact that it would also be cheaper and quicker to build  sold it. An early form of quickbuild scaffolding that would also leave a safe passageway in the river for shipping would also be used.