Bridge across the River Severn in Shropshire, England
This article is about the bridge in Shropshire. For the village named after it, see Ironbridge. For other uses, see Iron Bridge (disambiguation).
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge (February 2019)
Coordinates
52°37′38″N2°29′08″W / 52.62735°N 2.48550°W / 52.62735; -2.48550 (The Iron Bridge)
Carries
Pedestrian traffic
Crosses
River Severn
Locale
Ironbridge Gorge near Coalbrookdale
Owner
Telford and Wrekin Council
Characteristics
Design
cast-iron arch bridge
Longest span
100 ft 6 in (30.63 m)
History
Designer
Wilkinson
Constructed by
Abraham Darby III
Fabrication by
Abraham Darby III
Construction start
November 1777
Construction end
July 1779
Opened
1 January 1781
Statistics
Toll
Free public access since 1950
Scheduled monument
Official name
The Iron Bridge[1]
Designated
18 January 1934; 90 years ago (1934-01-18)[1]
Reference no.
1015325[1]
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name
The Iron Bridge[2]
Designated
8 April 1983; 41 years ago (1983-04-08)[2]
Reference no.
1038659[2]
Location
The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a structural material, and today the bridge is celebrated as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution.
The geography of the deep Ironbridge Gorge, formed by glacial action during the last ice age, meant that there are industrially useful deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone and fire clay present near the surface where they are readily mined, but also that it was difficult to build a bridge across the river at this location. To cope with the instability of the banks and the need to maintain a navigable channel in the river, a single span iron bridge was proposed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard. After initial uncertainty about the use of iron, construction took place over 2 years, with Abraham Darby III responsible for the ironwork. The bridge crosses the Ironbridge Gorge with a main span of 100 ft 6 in (30.63 m), allowing sufficient clearance for boats to pass underneath.
In 1934 it was designated a scheduled monument and closed to vehicular traffic. Tolls for pedestrians were collected until 1950, when the bridge was transferred into public ownership. After being in a poor state of repair for much of its life, extensive restoration works in the latter half of the 20th century have protected the bridge. The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.
^ abcCite error: The named reference he was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcHistoric England. "The Iron Bridge (1038659)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
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