Great Bridges Codexery

The Iron Bridge

The world's first major cast iron bridge, a symbol of the Industrial Revolution.

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The bridge and its surrounding gorge form a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 1986.[1] Opening to traffic on 1 January 1781, this bridge was the first large-scale metal bridge ever built.[2][3]

Geography and history

Local ironmaster Abraham Darby I first smelted local iron ore with coke made from Coalbrookdale coal in 1709.[4] A subscription raised funds of between £3,000 and £4,000 in 1775, and Abraham Darby III was appointed treasurer.[5] The ribs were lifted into place in the summer of 1779, and the bridge first spanned the river on 2 July 1779.[3] At the conclusion of the last ice age, the Ironbridge Gorge came into being when Lake Lapworth overflowed, which brought coal, iron ore, fire clay, and limestone close to the surface.[6]

Because the nearest crossing was at Buildwas, 2 miles away, the River Severn acted as both a vital commercial waterway and an obstacle separating the industrial parishes of Broseley and Madeley.[4] A letter proposing a cast-iron bridge was sent in 1773 by architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard to ironmaster John Wilkinson.[7] The location chosen for the bridge was next to a ferry connecting Madeley and Benthall, selected for its elevated approaches and firm ground.[8] Pritchard passed away on 21 December 1777, just one month after construction commenced.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Broseley Local History Society account notes that in 1956 the county council proposed demolishing the bridge and replacing it with a new one.[9] The same source states that the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust was formed after a county councillor decided the bridge must not be demolished.[9] The English Heritage account records that the bridge was reverted from blue-grey to its original red-brown colour after forensic analysis.[10] A 1779 watercolour by Elias Martin, found in Stockholm in 1997, depicts the bridge being built with a movable wooden scaffold that used derrick poles as a crane.[11]

Castings were probably cast at Bedlam Furnaces, which are on the north bank of the Severn 500 m downstream, and were transported to the site by boat.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "World Heritage List: Ironbridge Gorge", UNESCO; ; "History and Research: Iron Bridge", English Heritage (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "World Heritage List: Ironbridge Gorge", UNESCO; Chisholm 1911, p. 542 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "The Iron Bridge", engineering-timelines.com; de Haan, "The Iron Bridge – How was it Built?", BBC, 17 February 2011; "The Iron Bridge", English Heritage; de Haan, "The Iron Bridge – How was it Built?", BBC, 17 February 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cossons Trinder 2002, p. 3; Cossons Trinder 2002, p. 3; "History and Research: Iron Bridge", English Heritage (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cossons Trinder 2002, p. 3; Cossons Trinder 2002, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wills, "The Development of the Severn Valley in the Neighbourhood of Iron-Bridge and Bridgnorth", J. Geol. Soc., 1924, p. 274–308; "The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site Management Plan", Telford and Wrekin Council, July 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Thomas Farnolls Pritchard", ironbridge.org.uk; ; ; "Pritchard, Thomas Farnolls" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History and Research: Iron Bridge", English Heritage; ; "Thomas Farnolls Pritchard", ironbridge.org.uk; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "John Wilkinson and the Iron Bridge", Broseley Local History Society. facts only, no text reused. broseley.org.uk
  10. Wikipedia, "The Iron Bridge" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "English Heritage Experts Uncover Original Colour of the Iron Bridge", English Heritage; Growcott, "Iron Bridge true colour found to be red", Shropshire Star, 31 August 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. de Haan, "The Iron Bridge – How was it Built?", BBC, 17 February 2011. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Iron Bridge (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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ShropshireCast ironChemical elementDividendThomas TelfordReinforced concreteMonticello

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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