Bishop's Bridge, sometimes known as Paddington Bridge, is a road

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

in the

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

district of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

which carries Bishop's Bridge Road across the rail approaches to

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

and across the adjacent

Paddington Arm The Paddington Canal or Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal is a canal to Paddington in central London, England. It runs from the west of the capital at Bull's Bridge in Hayes. Little Venice — its only junction — is with the Re ...

of the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...

. The original

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

built bridge was replaced in 2006. The name Bishop's Bridge Road comes from the manor of Paddington which was granted to the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, Nicholas Ridley, by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

in the mid 16th Century.

Brunel's first iron bridge

Paddington 1 geograph-2446522-by-Ben-Brooksbank

In 2003 while researching a book about the station, Steven Brindle,

Inspector of Ancient Monuments The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administr ...

for

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

(London region), discovered that

was responsible for the original Bishop's Bridge, and that the section he built over the canal was his first iron bridge and had a unique design. The bulb-headed cast iron girders used in this bridge would have an influence on the much longer

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

girders he would later develop in his balloon flange pattern. Unaware that they were intending to replace the bridge, by the time Brindle contacted

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

, their planning of the replacement project was at an advanced stage, with the main contract due to be signed the following week, and demolition due to take place 10 months later. Investigations determined that the canal section of Brunel's 1839 bridge had survived, as rebuilding work in 1906 had merely obscured it and caused it to be forgotten. Negotiations between the council and English Heritage followed, and it was agreed that the 1839 iron bridge would be dismantled with a view to future reconstruction. The bulk of the dismantling work took place in April 2004, allowing the bridge replacement work to proceed as planned. An application for

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

to reconstruct the original iron bridge along the canal was submitted in April 2006. However, this has lapsed, and the dismantled bridge remains in storage in the care of English Heritage at

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

, near Portsmouth. Construction on the replacement bridge by

Hochtief Hochtief AG is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

'' issue 543 5 July 2006 page 58

References

External links

Westminster City Council FAQ on Paddington Bridge

Westminster City Council Bridge Re-Opening Press Release

In Pictures: Brunel's hidden bridge (BBC)

Brunel's iron bridge is found buried in brick (Guardian)

Canal Bridge Bishop's Bridge Road by Malcolm Tucker (preliminary archaeological report prior to dismantling) (pdf)

Brunel's Lost Bridge: The Rediscovery and Salvage of the Bishops Road Canal Bridge, Paddington by Steven Brindle and Malcolm Tucker (Construction History Vol 20, 2004)
{{Brunel Bishop's Bridge Bridges in London Paddington Bridges completed in 1839 Bridges completed in 2006

Brunel's first iron bridge

See also

References

External links