Dangerous wall, long closure and joyful reopening: the three-year saga that threatened to derail Bridgnorth Cliff Railway
Bridgnorth Cliff Railway has been ferrying passengers from Low Town to High Town since it opened in 1892, but at the end of 2022 a damaged wall saw it face its longest closure in its history and threatened the future of the attraction.
The final phase of repairs to the retaining wall along Castle Walk were finished this week, three years after the discovery of the damaged wall that led to the closure of the beloved funicular train for more than a year and landed Bridgnorth taxpayers with a £750,000 repair bill.
Here we look back at the timeline of the saga of the wall.
November 2022: Bridgnorth Town Council is notified by Bridgnorth Cliff Railway that its contractors have expressed concern at the structural condition of the retaining wall below the funicular train.
December 21, 2022: Bridgnorth Cliff Railway is forced to close over safety concerns due to the retaining wall. It is initially thought the closure will be until Easter of 2023. It comes as a structural engineer hired by the town council says the wall is in an extremely dangerous condition and there is a possibility of collapse at any time.
January 2023: The owner of Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, Malvern Tipping, announces that 14 out of 16 staff members are to be made redundant following the forced closure of the attraction.
February 2023: Bridgnorth mayor at the time Karen Sawbridge says there is "no easy fix” for the retaining wall as contractors continue to investigate a possible fix. Meanwhile, the town council continues to investigate who is liable to pay for the wall. Mr Tipping calls in lawyers and threatens court action.
