Repair work starts to conserve ‘wonder of the modern world’
VITAL repair work has begun on the world’s first iron bridge in a £3.6 million project to conserve “one of the wonders of the modern world”.
The Iron Bridge was built in 1779 over the River Severn in Shropshire, in the “cradle of the Industrial Revolution”. It was the first single span arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron and marked a turning point in engineering.
As work starts to preserve the bridge, English Heritage revealed a one million euro (£880,000) donation from a German foundation towards the restoration project.
The charity, which cares for the bridge, is also launching a crowdfunding campaign to help save the structure, which it described as the “great-great grandfather” of today’s railways and skyscrapers.
The bridge is under threat from cracking due to stresses in the ironwork, and ground movement, including an earthquake in the 19th century which pushed the gorge sides closer together.
With scaffolding in place around the bridge, English Heritage will clean, conserve, repair and reinforce the radials and braces holding it together. It will also be repainted.
With the one million euro donation from the German Hermann Reemtsma Foundation, only £25,000 more is needed to fund the project, and English Heritage is asking members of the public to donate to the campaign.
Kate Mavor, English Heritage’s chief executive, said: “The Iron Bridge is one of the most important, if not the most important, bridges ever built.
“It sits in the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and is open to everyone to visit, for free, every day of the year. But after two centuries, its cast iron is cracking and if it is to survive, the bridge needs our support.”
Jochen Muennich, of the Hermann Reemtsma Foundation, said: “We immediately recognised the value of English Heritage’s project to conserve the Iron Bridge, an outstanding example of the late 18th century engineering skills pioneered in Great Britain and subsequently adopted and developed throughout Europe.
“Not only do we admire the Iron Bridge as an important technical landmark, but we also see it as a potent reminder of our continent’s common cultural roots and values.”
The bridge was built in an area that was an industrial powerhouse in the 18th century due to rich coal deposits near the surface, but expansion of economic activity was hampered by the lack of a bridge on that part of the Severn.
It needed to be single span because of the volume of barge traffic on the river and the gorge’s steep sides, and was constructed of iron at the suggestion of Shrewsbury architect Thomas Pritchard, who died just a month after work began. It was officially opened on New Year’s Day in 1781.
Cast iron became widely used in the construction of bridges and buildings, and although it was closed for vehicles in 1934 when it was designated as an ancient monument, the Iron Bridge still stands as a monument to industrial development.
To donate go to: www.crowdfunder. co.uk/project-iron-bridge