The Avon Bridge is a railway bridge over the River Avon in

Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly hou ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. It was built in 1839 by

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 ...

and has been designated by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The contract was originally awarded to William Ranger, who fell behind with the build and had his construction plant seized so the Great Western Railway company could finish construction. Ranger started legal proceedings against the company, but they were eventually quashed by

Lord Cranworth Robert Monsey Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth, PC (18 December 1790 – 26 July 1868) was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He twice served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Background and education Born at Cranworth, Norfolk, he wa ...

. The bridge carries the Great Western Main Line over the River Avon into Bristol Temple Meads station, approximately west (downstream) of Netham Weir.

Construction

The Great Western Railway company engaged

to build a bridge on the eastern approach to

Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...

. Brunel designed a masonry bridge with a wide central arch and a smaller arch on either side; all three arches are in a gothic style. The entire structure is made of squared stone with semi-octagonal buttresses and was completed in 1839. Subsequently a truss girder bridge was added on either side of the Avon Bridge to widen it, obscuring the structure. The structure became Grade I Listed on 8 June 1990. The contract for building the bridge went to William Ranger in March 1836, with work beginning that April. The stone for the bridge was intended to be taken from the cutting of the nearby No. 1 Tunnel. Ranger fell behind schedule, and by 1838, when shareholders had intended the line to be open, Great Western Railway declared his work unsatisfactory. Under the terms of their contract with him they seized his plant to complete the works themselves. Ranger valued his plant at £70,000 (), and started legal proceeding against the Great Western Railway, stating he had been deceived about the nature of the stone he was cutting into, believing it was sandstone and discovering it was Pennant stone. He also complained that Brunel was a shareholder of the Great Western Railway company, a fact Ranger was not aware of when he took the contract. The case was eventually settled by the

, who stated that Ranger could not reject terms of the contract.

References

External links

* {{Brunel Grade I listed buildings in Bristol Bridges in Bristol Bridges completed in 1839 Grade I listed railway bridges and viaducts Bridges by Isambard Kingdom Brunel Bridges across the River Avon, Bristol

Construction

See also

References

External links