RELIC OF A LONG-TERM SURVIVOR THAT’S NOW BEING THREATENED

THE USUAL price paid for a Midland & Great Northern (M&GN) cast iron bridgeplate is around £100, so when an example goes for more than twice that sum you know that it represents something special.

Lot 135 in Talisman’s The Atkin Lincolnshire Collection sale, held at Navenby on Saturday July 2, was M&GN bridgeplate No. 234, with a recently restored face, that reached a hammer price of £260.

In recent years bridge No. 234, just west of the Lincolnshire town of Bourne, has become something of a celebrity, so the appearance of one of its bridgeplates was bound to generate interest.

After the last passenger trains ran on the former Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway on February 28 1959, the track was soon lifted west of Bourne. The three-arch bridge No. 234, that once spanned the track at Kingston’s Siding – a brick and tile works – was left in situ. Subsequently having its approach ramps removed, it stood in splendid isolation in open countryside.

Time hasn’t stood still for towns like Bourne, and housing developments have spread out around the community. Bridge No. 234 was recently threatened by one such project.

A Bridge 234 Preservation Group was formed to try and save the landmark structure and South Kesteven District Council’s planning committee refused an application to remove the bridge. However, a planning inspector subsequently allowed developer Bellway’s appeal against this decision. At the time of writing, the bridge still stands, but its days are numbered.

Other M&GN bridge-plates included in this sale were Lot 28 No. 12 (from a culvert near Thorney), that sold for £130, Lot 341 No. 217 (North Drove girder bridge) which made £80 and Lot 495 No. 205 (Green Lane footbridge, Spalding), that made £90.

This was a fascinating collection built up over many years and full details of the results can be found on the Talisman website.

W: www.talismanauctions.co.uk