A LIFTING bridge designed by Robert Stephenson and built in 1834 to carry a railway line over the Grand Union Canal has been restored. Robin Jones reports…
The bridge is one of the few remaining examples of Victorian engineer Stephenson’s early work near the dawn of the steam age so is of immense historic importance. It was originally located near to the site of the modern-day Highcross shopping centre in Leicester and was previously on display at the Snibston Discovery Centre at Coalville, which closed in 2015.
Leicester City Council donated the original remaining ironwork from the bridge to the Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre, where volunteers have restored it over three-and-a-half years in partnership with Leicester Industrial History Society. The final task was to lay granite setts either side of the bridge to mimic its original approaches.
The Association of Industrial Archaeology, the Edith Murphy Foundation and the Helen Jean Cope Charity provided grants to fund the restoration, while members of the public, visitors and project supporters made donations, and it is now on display at the centre, where volunteers perform lifts during shunting demonstration days and also on busy days. The next stage is to complete the lift bridge museum displays and interpretations to outline the story of the bridge’s journey through time.
“What makes the bridge so special is that it dates right back to the beginning of the railway era, a time when almost everyone lived their entire lives never travelling more than 1.5 miles from where they were born,” the centre wrote on its Facebook page. “A time when some scientists were sceptical at the coming of the railways because they thought that the human body would never be able to withstand the forces of travelling at 30mph! Hard to imagine a time like that now. The coming of the railways really did change the world.
“Most of our volunteer team have worked on the restoration, but our volunteer Nigel has led the project from the front and has done the lion’s share of the work. The final job to tackle was the laying of granite setts either side of the bridge to mimic its original approaches. Well done to Nigel and all our volunteers!”
