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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 .
7 Things You Didn't Know. History of Iron Bridge. Nestled in a spectacular wooded gorge stands a monument to British industry – the world’s first iron bridge. Crossing the River Severn, it was completed in 1779 and opened to traffic in 1781. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and remains an iconic feature of Britain’s ...
Address: Ironbridge, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 7JP. The world's first iron bridge was erected over the River Severn here in Shropshire in 1779. This pioneering structure marked a turning point in English design and engineering; after it was built, cast iron came to be widely used in the construction of bridges, aqueducts and buildings. The Iron ...
Ironbridge, structure that is generally considered the first cast iron bridge, spanning the River Severn at Ironbridge, near Coalbrookdale, in Shropshire, England. The bridge was erected by Abraham Darby in 1777–79. It is now a British national monument and is still used for pedestrian traffic.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Building Begins
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
Stage 1: The building of the half-scale model begins. The derrick poles and brace lift a rib from a barge. © In 2001, a half-scale model of the main section of the Bridge was reconstructed as part of an experiment. Armed with old ledger entries and 18th century lifting manuals, advice from a range of experts and a recently discovered painting of th...
Stone footings were built using local sandstone, and topped by iron base plates. The rest of the massive abutments were not built at this stage. A pair of 21m (70ft) wooden derrick poles were stood in the river bed, which acted as cranes. They were angled slightly towards the middle of the river and were stiffened near the top by a horizontal timbe...
During the building of the half-scale model, two half ribs were joined at the crown to complete the first of five arches. © The arch has five parallel iron frames, built starting with the upstream one and working back towards the centre. The first pair of Inner Verticals was slotted into the base plate, one on either bank. A Lower Rib was lifted fr...
It was in November 1777 that Abraham Darby III began erecting the 378 tons of cast iron to build the bridge which spans the 30 m/100 ft of the Shropshire gorge. The bridge itself was completed in 1779 with the fitting of the balustrade and the road surface along with the obligatory toll house. The first tolls were taken on New Year’s Day 1781.
The Ironbridge Gorge lies within the Coalbrookdale Coalfield, a region richly endowed with minerals, coal, iron ore, limestone, sand, and useful clays. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I local landowners began to exploit coal on a large scale. After 1600, wooden railways were built to carry coal from the mines to the banks of the Severn.
