Bishop's Bridge, sometimes known as Paddington Bridge, is a road

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

in the

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

district of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

which carries Bishop's Bridge Road across the rail approaches to

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

and across the adjacent

Paddington Arm The Paddington Canal or Paddington Arm (also known as Paddington Branch) of the Grand Union Canal is a canal from Bull's Bridge in Hayes, Hillingdon, Hayes, west London, to Paddington in central London, England. Little Venice, London, Little Ven ...

of the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

. The original

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

built bridge was replaced in 2006. The name Bishop's Bridge Road comes from the manor of Paddington which was granted to the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

, Nicholas Ridley, by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

in the mid 16th Century.

Brunel's first iron bridge

Paddington 1 geograph-2446522-by-Ben-Brooksbank

In 2003 while researching a book about the station, Steven Brindle, Inspector of Ancient Monuments for

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

(London region), discovered that

was responsible for the original Bishop's Bridge, and that the section he built over the canal was his first iron bridge and had a unique design. The bulb-headed cast iron girders used in this bridge would have an influence on the much longer

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

girders he would later develop in his balloon flange pattern. Unaware that they were intending to replace the bridge, by the time Brindle contacted

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

, their planning of the replacement project was at an advanced stage, with the main contract due to be signed the following week, and demolition due to take place 10 months later. Investigations determined that the canal section of Brunel's 1839 bridge had survived, as rebuilding work in 1906 had merely obscured it and caused it to be forgotten. Negotiations between the council and English Heritage followed, and it was agreed that the 1839 iron bridge would be dismantled with a view to future reconstruction. The bulk of the dismantling work took place in April 2004, allowing the bridge replacement work to proceed as planned. An application for

planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

to reconstruct the original iron bridge along the canal was submitted in April 2006. However, this has lapsed, and the dismantled bridge remains in storage in the care of Historic England at Fort Cumberland, near Portsmouth. Construction on the replacement bridge by

Hochtief Hochtief AG is a global provider of infrastructure technology and construction services, with locations in North America, Australia, and Europe. The Essen based company is primarily active in the fields of high tech, energy transition, and sustai ...

commenced in July 2003 with it opening on 14 June 2006.New £62 million bridge opens at Paddington '' Rail'' issue 543 5 July 2006 page 58

References

External links

Westminster City Council FAQ on Paddington Bridge

Westminster City Council Bridge Re-Opening Press Release

In Pictures: Brunel's hidden bridge (BBC)

Brunel's iron bridge is found buried in brick (Guardian)

Canal Bridge Bishop's Bridge Road by Malcolm Tucker (preliminary archaeological report prior to dismantling) (pdf)

Brunel's Lost Bridge: The Rediscovery and Salvage of the Bishops Road Canal Bridge, Paddington by Steven Brindle and Malcolm Tucker (Construction History Vol 20, 2004)
{{Brunel Bishop's Bridge Bridges in London Paddington Bridges completed in 1839 Bridges completed in 2006

Brunel's first iron bridge

See also

References

External links