With a major river running through Shropshire, it’s natural that the county should have some magnificent bridges.
The gem among them all is the world’s first Iron Bridge, still standing proud and counting down to its 250th anniversary in 2029. But bridges also have a shelf life, or suffer misfortune, or fail to keep pace with the times, and a number of attractive bridges have come and gone.
We’ve dipped into our archives to have a look at a few of those disappeared structures which gave good service to Salopians down the centuries but were overtaken by the march of progress.
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9. Shifnal's "weak" bridge proved to be a tough old nut
The railway cuts right across the centre of Shifnal and for a long time was carried by this elegant Victorian bridge. The photo is an undated postcard but there are one or two clues to narrow down the date a bit. The posters in the distance just left of centre feature Mollie King, who was an actress in films from 1916 to 1924. One can just about be read. It's "The Mystery of the Double Cross," which was a 1917 film, although of course the poster might have been left up for a while. The old bridge was replaced in 1953 because it was thought to have become weak, but in fact it proved strong and well put together. The upshot was that while it had been hoped that it could be demolished in a day – a Sunday – it took much longer than expected. | Ray Farlow
10. At last, a river crossing for free
An interesting river level view of the Free Bridge, Jackfield, as seen in a postcard franked at Ironbridge on July 9, 1909, so very shortly after the bridge opened to traffic on June 26. It was called the Free Bridge because it was free of toll, unlike, for instance, the Iron Bridge upstream. Its building spelt the end of the Jackfield ferry. It was alternatively known as the “Haynes Memorial Bridge” in honour of a Mr Haynes who left money in his will which made it possible. It was made of ferro-concrete but by the 1990s was on its last legs and replaced by the modern Jackfield Bridge. | Ray Farlow
11. The iron bridge - but not the one you're thinking of
You occasionally hear the great civil engineer Thomas Telford being credited with the building of the world-famous Iron Bridge - it was actually built by Abraham Darby. But here is an iron bridge which Telford really did build, and not that long after Darby's pioneering masterpiece. It is Buildwas Bridge which replaced a medieval bridge which was a victim of flooding on the River Severn in 1795. Telford's bridge was replaced in 1905, so obviously this photo is from before then, and its replacement was itself replaced in 1992 by the bridge which stands today. | Ray Farlow
12. Hadley's "Bridge of Sighs"
Hadley railway bridge in July 1966 when this picture was published with a story which began: "Hadley has its own Bridge of Sighs - but the sighs come from lorry drivers as they approach the notorious Coalport railway bridge, scene of several accidents. And during the past 10 years lorries have become stuck, scraped and been forcibly unloaded as they have tried to squeeze under its 13ft 6in arch. There has been at least one serious accident there..." It went on to say local residents and councils all wanted the bridge made safer, or completely removed. "The railway lines which cross the bridge no longer lead anywhere. The bridge is used as a short extension to the goods yard of Joseph Sankey and Co Ltd, but the bridge's demolition would only mean the loss of about 50 yards of track..." They got their way. The bridge was demolished in April 1967. | Shropshire Star