Daily Mail

Historic bridge gets its colour back

- By Jemma Buckley

FOR years it has been a metallic bluegrey colour. But now the world’s first major iron bridge is to be restored to its original dark red-brown hue.

The Iron Bridge in Shropshire – which was a turning point in engineerin­g when built in 1779 – is to be repainted as part of a £3.6million conservati­on project.

A team of six painters will use 2,400 litres of paint to coat every cast-iron rib, radial and brace in the 100ft span.

English Heritage took advantage of the enormous scaffoldin­g currently covering the bridge to undertake detailed research into its former colour, discoverin­g samples of the earliest paintwork. Analysis revealed that the cast iron was originally covered in a very dark red-brown lead-based oil paint. The bridge, which opened to traffic in 1781, was built across the Severn to help the growing local iron-smelting industry.

Abraham Darby had pioneered the smelting of iron using coke in 1709 in Coalbrookd­ale. His process would be a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution.

His grandson Abraham Darby III was commission­ed to cast the iron for the bridge and build it. It gave its name to the nearby town of Ironbridge and subsequent­ly cast iron came to be widely used in the constructi­on of bridges, aqueducts and buildings. English Heritage describes the Iron Bridge as ‘ the great-great grandfathe­r of today’s railways and skyscraper­s’.

Its senior property curator, Dr Heather Sebire, said yesterday: ‘While the bridge is covered in scaffoldin­g, visitors will be able to see it up close and personal via our public walkway, and watch our team of painters transform this revolution­ary structure to its original red-brown. And of course, when the scaffoldin­g comes down at the end of the year, we’ll reveal one of the most important bridges in the world, in all its glory.’

In recent years, English Heritage became concerned that the structure was under threat of cracking as a result of to stress in the original ironwork, ground movement and an earthquake in the 19th century.

 ??  ?? £3.6m restoratio­n: The Iron Bridge
£3.6m restoratio­n: The Iron Bridge

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