How many bridges can you count?
A quick tour of bridges over the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge

Since our journey downstream starts at Buildwas, that shall be bridge number one. This bridge has been rebuilt three times. First it was a medieval bridge, but then there came the Great Floods of 1795.

At Dale End there is a plaque in memory of the “great winter” when the river broke its banks and the water level rose to over 20 foot high, thus leading to the demise of the original bridge. Shropshire’s famous engineer, Thomas Telford formed a design based on a bridge he’d seen in Switzerland and the bridge was replaced. Since then due to the rivers ferocity, the bridge has had to be re-constructed at least 2 more times.

There are bridges for the Power Station use and entry of vehicles, but since these are not old we shall not count them as bridges of importance.

Just after the power station’s main entry vehicle bridge we come to an important bridge, The Albert Edward Bridge. The bridge’s importance lies in the fact that it is the only remaining piece of railway line from the railway’s era which at one time ran all the way to Craven Arms and aided in the transport of the valuable limestone of Wenlock Edge.

This bridge is still in use today to deliver coal to the power Station 5-6 times each day. It was built in 1863 and is also of iron construction.

The most famous bridge in the gorge and perhaps the whole world - the Iron Bridge!

This is located in the centre of Ironbridge and was the first iron bridge ever constructed. It was the vision of Abraham Darby III, iron master, and Thomas Pritchard, architect for the bridge’s conception and design. There was financial sponsorship amongst friends.

The bridge was built 1777-1779 with the various pieces forged in furnaces throughout the Gorge and slotted together like a timber frame construction. Thomas Pritchard died before the completion of the bridge and the grand opening on New Year’s Day 1781. Every Boxing Day Morris dancers still perform on the bridge in celebration of this great event.

The bridge succeeded in reaching from one side of the gorge to another in a grand arch which is about 100 feet. The greatest test of its strength was its survival during the the Great Flood of 1795.

In recent years the river’s force has proven to be almost as fierce as on that fateful day and yet the bridge continues to hold. Weather is always unpredictable in Ironbridge and in the Tontine Hotel you will find a photograph on the walls of people standing on the frozen river underneath the bridge on 5 February 1917.

Nowadays only pedestrian traffic is allowed on the bridge, though you can see the old toll fares displayed on the side of the toll house. In 2003 Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip walked the bridge and paid their fare during the Royal visit to Shropshire.

The fourth bridge of importance is the "New Bridge", formerly known as the "Free Bridge" that made it possible to reach Jackfield from Ironbridge. Its original construction was of poured reinforced concrete and was started in 1908.

This was a new concept in those days and it is considered the first of its kind in Britain when it opened in 1909. However it succumbed to the elements and was removed and replaced with much controversy by a new modern silver coloured bridge.

Number five, further down river, is a foot bridge that joins Coalport to Jackfield. It was originally constructed in 1922 using donations from the public as a memorial to those who were lost in the First World War and considered to be the only war memorial of its kind. This bridge has recently been renovated.

And so to the final big bridge, number six, Coalport Bridge - The Woodbridge. This and the Buildwas bridge were the first traffic bridges in the Gorge.

It came to use in 1780 (before the grand opening of the Ironbridge) and was originally made of wood.

It was also badly damaged in the winter flood of 1795 and was partially rebuilt with cast iron. Since then it has been repaired many times and although still in use it is subject to weight and size limits.

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