The Inglis Bridge,

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, Wales crosses the

River Monnow The River Monnow () marks the England–Wales border for much of its length. After flowing through southwest Herefordshire, England, and eastern Monmouthshire, Wales, its confluence with the River Wye is approximately south of Monmouth. The ...

linking Vauxhall Fields and the suburb of Osbaston. Designed by, and named after, Charles Inglis, the bridge was constructed in 1931 and refurbished in 1988. It is a Mark II model of an Inglis bridge, and the only known example in Britain of such a bridge still in public use. Access was limited to pedestrians in 2018, vehicular use being prohibited on safety grounds. In September 2024 the bridge was also closed to pedestrians due to safety concerns. Following a sustained local campaign, supported by Monmouth's member of parliament, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

announced £1M in funding to repair the bridge and restore pedestrian access by the end of 2025. The bridge is a

Grade II listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Sir Charles Inglis (31 July 1875 – 19 April 1952) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

. While a lecturer in mechanical engineering at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, Inglis joined the Cambridge University

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

and on the outbreak of

World War 1 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. Appointed director of the bridging department, he designed a transportable steel bridge that could be erected in a day. Named the Inglis bridge in his honour, the design remained in use by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

throughout the First World War and the inter-war period, until being superseded by the higher capacity

Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...

in 1940–1941. The Inglis Bridge at Monmouth was built by the

Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) is the most senior regiment of the British Army Reserve. The regiment was formed in 1539 during the reign of by King Henry VIII. The R Mon RE (M) became a militia unit in 1660 and then became a p ...

(RMRE) in 1931. The regiment was, and is, based at

Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle () is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south-east Wales. Once an important border castle, and birthplace of Henry V of England, it stood ...

, and the bridge provided access to its training ground on Vauxhall Fields. The regiment undertook the refurbishment of the bridge in 1988. The bridge was closed to vehicles in 2011 on safety grounds, although it was reopened shortly afterwards in the face of local opposition. The bridge was again closed to vehicles in 2018 amid arguments over the responsibility for the funding of repairs. It remains the only known example of such a bridge in the UK in public use. The Inglis Bridge has been closed to pedestrians since September 2024 due to safety concerns. Following a sustained local campaign, supported by Monmouth's member of parliament,

Catherine Fookes Catherine Ann Fookes (born October 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Monmouthshire since 2024. Education Fookes was born in 1970 and was educated at the private Godolphin School. She la ...

, the

, which retains responsibility for the bridge, announced £1M in funding for repairs with the aim of restoring pedestrian access by the end of 2025.

Location

Vauxhall Fields was developed as a

pleasure ground In English gardening history, the pleasure ground or pleasure garden was the parts of a large garden designed for the use of the owners, as opposed to the kitchen garden and the wider park. It normally included flower gardens, typically directl ...

in the 18th century by John Tibbs, landlord of the Beaufort Arms Hotel. In the 1850s, the headquarters of the RMRE were established at Monmouth Castle, and a training camp was developed on Vauxhall Fields in the early 20th century. In 1905, access over the River Monnow to the camp was facilitated by the construction of a wooden bridge, known as the White Bridge. This was replaced by the Inglis Bridge in 1931, with the latter using the

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

footings of the former.

Description

The bridge is constructed of

tubular steel Cold-formed steel (CFS) is the common term for steel products shaped by cold-working processes carried out near room temperature, such as rolling, pressing, stamping, bending, etc. Stock bars and sheets of cold-rolled steel (CRS) are common ...

and comprises a single span with a deck. It is supported by longitudinal stringers and two spans of lateral bracing. The design is of the

Warren truss In structural engineering, a Warren truss or equilateral truss is a type of truss employing a weight-saving design based upon Triangle, equilateral triangles. It is named after the British engineer James Warren (engineer), James Warren, who pat ...

type. The Inglis bridges were constructed using

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. Some research ...

components, allowing for rapid deployment and reuse in

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

conditions. The Mark I design comprised steel tubes of differing lengths, which led to errors during assembly. The Mark II model standardised the steel tubes used to a single length. Inglis Bridge is a

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Cadw report on First World War military activity in South-east Wales
{{Buildings in Monmouth Bridges in Monmouthshire Bridges completed in the 20th century Grade II listed bridges in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Monmouthshire Buildings and structures in Monmouth, Wales Pedestrian bridges in Wales