The "Sunderland Bridge Lottery" medal from 1816 was a commemorative medal issued for a lottery to fund the construction of the Sunderland Bridge. The medal, designed by T. Halliday, features a ship beneath the bridge on the obverse and has a legend on the reverse. It is made of white metal or pewter, weighs about 31.7 grams, and is around 45mm in diameter.
The Sunderland bridge Lottery was to raise money for Roland Burdon, Sunderland's MP. He had been instrumental in funding and obtaining Acts of Parliament for the iron bridge across the Wear opened on 9 August 1796. The single arch bridge had been fabricated at Coalbrookdale. The total cost had been £34,000 of which Burdon subscribed £30,000. In spite of tolls he got into financial difficulties and the lottery was opened for his benefit in 1816 with a prize of £5000.
When his bank collapsed, leaving him with liabilities of ever £85,000, his shares were disposed of by lottery. The bridge was replaced in 1859 by the Wearmouth Bridge, the building of which was supervised by Robert Stephenson, at a cost of £40,000.
This is a scarce and interesting piece of social history. Some of the original bright finish is visible around the main designs. Very fine.
