The Conwy Suspension Bridge is a Grade I-listed structure and is one of the first road

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

s in the world. Located in the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

town of

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

Conwy county borough Conwy County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the north Wales, north of Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south and Denbighshire to the east. The largest settlement is Colwyn Bay, and Conwy is the administrativ ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, it is now only passable on foot. The bridge is now in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. It originally carried the A55(T)

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

from

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

to Bangor.

History

Built by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

, the suspension bridge spans the

River Conwy The River Conwy (; ) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is long and drains an area of 678 square km. "Conwy" was formerly anglicised as "Conway." The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''c ...

next to

Conwy Castle Conwy Castle (; ) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I of England, Edward I, during his Conquest of Wales by Edward I, conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to ...

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The bridge was built in 1822–1826 at a cost of £51,000 () and replaced the ferry at the same point. It is in the same style as one of Telford's other bridges, the

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( or ) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's first major suspension bridge. Th ...

crossing the

Menai Strait The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...

. The original wooden deck was replaced by an iron roadway in the late nineteenth century and it was strengthened by adding wire cables above the original iron chains in 1903. The following year a walkway was added for pedestrian traffic. The bridge was superseded by a new road bridge built alongside and closed on 13 December 1958 when Henry Brooke, the Minister of Welsh Affairs, performed the opening ceremony of the new bridge.Conwy Archive Service https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/57120372-07f8-3645-9ae4-0baf52779c15 The suspension bridge is now only used as a footbridge and has been owned by the National Trust since 1965.

Description

Telford designed the bridge to match the adjacent Conwy Castle. The bridge deck is suspended by four tiers of two chains each (a fifth tier was added later) carried over castellated towers that have a central archway over the road with

machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...

. The chains are anchored on the east side of the river by a freestone and concrete

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

while those on the western side are anchored to the eastern barbican of the castle and bedrock. Part of the castle had to be demolished during construction to anchor the suspension cables.

Notes

External links

Conwy Suspension Bridge information at the National Trust
{{coord, 53, 17, N, 3, 49, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Bridges completed in 1826 Bridges in Conwy County Borough Buildings and structures in Conwy Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Suspension bridges in Wales Bridges by Thomas Telford National Trust properties in Wales Tourist attractions in Conwy County Borough Grade I listed bridges in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Conwy County Borough 1826 establishments in Wales

History

Description

See also

Notes

External links