Description of Historic Place

The Norwich Street Bridge, built in 1882, crosses the Speed River to connect two sections of Norwich Street, in the Goldie Mill neighbourhood of Guelph. The single-span, pony-truss bridge was constructed as a composite of wrought iron and steel.

The property was designated, by the City of Guelph, in 1998, for its heritage value, under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, By-law 1998-15786.

Heritage Value

The Norwich Street Bridge is a visually distinctive feature of the Speed River landscape, in this area. Since 2003, the Norwich Street Bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic and now serves as a pedestrian-only bridge, that links walking trails along the Speed River and connects both sides of the Goldie Mill neighbourhood.

Built in 1882 by the Hamilton Bridge Company, the Norwich Street Bridge is associated with the transportation of industrial goods from the once-thriving foundries and mills that occupied the Goldie Mill area in the nineteenth century. The 1882 Norwich Street Bridge was built to replace an earlier bridge built in circa 1860. The choice of iron and steel over wood construction material, of the 1882 bridge, reflects not only technological advances in bridge building but the growing industrialization of the community at that time.

The Norwich Street Bridge's single-span, pony-truss, iron and steel design is the only surviving example from the several iron and steel bridges that once existed in the City of Guelph.

Source: City of Guelph By-law 1998-15786.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the Norwich Street Bridge include its:
- all steel and iron single-span pony-truss structural elements
- original date plates
- original location spanning the Speed River, linking both sides of the Goldie Mill neighbourhood