Porthill Bridge, also often referred to as Port Hill Footbridge, is a

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 ...

for pedestrians crossing the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, England. It connects Porthill with the Quarry and the town centre. Next to it on the Porthill side is the Boathouse

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

and Becks Field – both Quarry Park and Becks Field are extensive open green spaces largely preserved from building by their propensity to flood. Porthill Bridge experiences significant vibration, even when few people are crossing it – and has done since it was installed. Local pedestrians mostly accept this eccentricity as part of the bridge's charm. A ferry operated here until the bridge was built in 1922 by David Rowell & Co. One of the posts to which the cable was attached is still visible on the north bank of the river just a few metres west of the crossing. The bridge was opened on 18 January 1923. £2,000 of the bridge's total £2,600 cost was paid for by the Shropshire Horticultural Society. From March to July 2012 the bridge was closed for refurbishment, which included repainting the whole bridge and replacing the timber deck, costing £575,000. The bridge was temporarily replaced with a passenger ferry between the Quarry and the Boat House pub with an adult single fare of 50p.

References

* Blackwall, Anthony, ''Historic Bridges of Shropshire'', Shropshire Libraries, 1985, Bridges across the River Severn Bridges in Shrewsbury Bridges completed in 1922 Suspension bridges in England Pedestrian bridges in England {{UK-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References