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The Iron Bridge: Symbol of the Industrial Revolution
The Iron Bridge Symbol of the Industrial Revolution
- GenresNonfiction
140 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
46 people want to read
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April 27, 2015
Having visited Ironbridge and crossed the bridge, I was interested in this book. The world's first iron bridge crossed the Severn Gorge over a river which regularly floods and washes out bridges. The restored bridge is still there today and a very handsome span it is.
The photos and paintings in the book are lovely and a student of art of the period would be interested. A 'Diligence' coach firm crossed the bridge but we see only motor vehicles in photos. From the iconic bridge with its graceful curve, decorative circle and ogee and stout supports, we move on to other iron bridges of the later years which were mainly plain straight bridges for rail.
The cast list is like a roll call of greats: Abraham Darby was one of the bridge planners, who raised funds to build it on the basis that it would be tolled. Other names we meet include Telford, Wedgwood, Pritchard, Stephenson, many more. The later chapters describe the later iron bridges, in other countries as well as Britain.
I thought that scholars of the period, or of bridges and architecture or structural design, would get more out of this book than the casual reader. I also thought that in the effort to name names and find evidence of sums spent, nothing had been said about the way the bridge was constructed using carpentry joints and strengths. The word dovetail is used once. When I stood under that bridge it was clear that it was a lot sturdier than we'd expect of cast iron, and carpentry joints had been used, not the kind of metal techniques we'd use today.
The photos and paintings in the book are lovely and a student of art of the period would be interested. A 'Diligence' coach firm crossed the bridge but we see only motor vehicles in photos. From the iconic bridge with its graceful curve, decorative circle and ogee and stout supports, we move on to other iron bridges of the later years which were mainly plain straight bridges for rail.
The cast list is like a roll call of greats: Abraham Darby was one of the bridge planners, who raised funds to build it on the basis that it would be tolled. Other names we meet include Telford, Wedgwood, Pritchard, Stephenson, many more. The later chapters describe the later iron bridges, in other countries as well as Britain.
I thought that scholars of the period, or of bridges and architecture or structural design, would get more out of this book than the casual reader. I also thought that in the effort to name names and find evidence of sums spent, nothing had been said about the way the bridge was constructed using carpentry joints and strengths. The word dovetail is used once. When I stood under that bridge it was clear that it was a lot sturdier than we'd expect of cast iron, and carpentry joints had been used, not the kind of metal techniques we'd use today.
Displaying 1 of 1 review