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THE BRIDGE BUILDERS
Sir John Fowler Born 1817 Died 1898
Fowler was the consulting engineer to the Severn Valley Railway and the designer of the Victoria Bridge at Arley and the Albert Edward Bridge at Coalbrookdale. Two of the finest railway bridges crossing the Severn and still in use today.
Thomas Penson Born 1790 Died 1859
The Penson dynasty of the 18th century was well known in North Wales for their work as architects and surveyors. Thomas Penson’s father was the County Surveyor of Flintshire until he was dismissed suddenly, no doubt connected with the collapse of the new Overton Bridge!
It has often been said that Penson’s and Telford’s bridge designs are similar.
Possibly because both were pupils of the distinguished neo-
Thomas Penson was a hard man to work for and did not think much of local contractors. In February of 1852 incessant rain caused the Severn to rise higher than figures recorded during the flood of 1795. Many bridges were damaged and weakened by the force of water rushing down the river. For the next few years Penson was to be kept busy repairing and replacing them.
Whilst County Surveyor of Montgomeryshire during the 1850's, the council decided that a new bridge was to be built at Caerhowel. Penson recommended a single arch iron bridge of the Dredge design. Against the surveyor’s wishes a Dredge suspension bridge was built and opened in 1854, but in 1885 the bridge suddenly collapsed killing one of the wagon men who was crossing the river.
Thomas Penson finally got his way, the bridge was replaced with the present iron bridge, not a single arch, but two.
Sir John Fowler
Thomas Telford
Born the son of a shepherd at Eskdale, Dumfrieshire. Although his mother was widowed early he was articled as a stonemason, working first in Edinburgh and then at Somerset House in London. Then he came to the attention of William Pulteney, the wealthy MP for Shrewsbury and was soon appointed County Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire in 1787. He set about a radical improvement of roads and bridges, later devising a new form of chipped stone road surface.
But it was in his canal construction that he excelled. He built a bridge on the Shrewsbury Canal in the form of an iron trough which became the prototype for his magnificent Pontcysllte Viaduct over the Dee Valley on the Llangollen Canal. Telford’s philosophy was to build on a grand scale, an approach which was costly, but of a more lasting structure.
Built on a grand scale were the Caledonian Canal and the Gotha Canal in Sweden, each of them epic feats of engineering. Thomas Telford was a pioneer in the field of suspension bridges, one of the first being the bridge over the Menai Strait.
During the 1960's Telford was designated a new town and named in honour of this great bridge designer.
Thomas Telford Born 1757 Died 1834
Three of the Severn’s majestic bridges are of the design of John Gwynn. English Bridge, Shrewsbury, Atcham Bridge and Worcester Bridge. Atcham Bridge closed to traffic in 1924, but still standing today as a monument to this fine bridge designer. Although both English Bridge and Worcester Bridge have been extensively rebuilt, they still retain their majestic appearance.
John Gwynn began his career in Shrewsbury as a carpenter, but later changed his lifestyle and moved to London. Here in the 1760's he designed an ambitious scheme for the central area of the capital. He was well versed in classical architecture, having written on the subject for a number of years and in 1768 he became founder member of the Royal Academy.
It was during the period of construction of Atcham Bridge that he designed another splendid bridge, Magdalen Bridge in Oxford. It is a tribute to this fine architect that English Bridge survives in the town of his birth at Shrewsbury and also Worcester Bridge, where he died on the 28th February 1786.
John Gwynn Born 1713 Died 1786
John Gwynn
Today the bridge designer and builder are part of large consortiums, with finance for construction coming from all sources around the world. The new Second Severn Crossing was a good example of this.
This was a joint venture between the UK and France, Laing and GTM, with some finance from Japan. As was during the 18th century, the cost of building is recuperated from tolls levied on vehicles crossing the bridge.